Surges scores 4 TDs, helps St. Charles North hand Geneva 1st loss
Streaks of black smudges blanketed Drew Surges' uniform.
Each of them are individual reminders of everything, and anything, he can do on a football field.
Surges, a St. Charles North senior, emerged from the North Stars' 35-20 win with four total touchdowns on offense and a plethora of individual defensive standout play - one of which included breaking up a pass intended for Geneva star wideout Talyn Taylor late in the fourth quarter to effectively ice the game for the North Stars.
St. Charles North (4-1, 3-0) handed Geneva (4-1, 2-1) its first loss and in the process became the lone team still unbeaten in DuKane Conference play going into the second half of the season.
"He bleeds. He's human. We checked that. I thought [underneath the bandage on his forearm] was synthetic oil," St. Charles North Robert Pomazak joked about Surges. "…He's special. You want to know an all-state player of the year looks like? That's exactly what it is. There's just not a better player, right now, that I've seen on film in our little area."
"And, that's a tribute to Drew because he's just got a target on his back. He's an absolute man-child and just a great person," Pomazak continued.
Surges, who finished with 204 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards, numerous defensive tackles and an interception, credited teammates for helping him manage his stamina throughout a given game.
"[Geneva] is a great team, but we knew we could run the ball," Surges said. "We did. It was a big win for us. Another big week. We're leading the conference now so now we have the target on our back and we can just keep moving."
Surges' No. 6 isn't a mystery to opposing defenses. And, arguably hasn't been to DuKane Conference teams in particular for three seasons.
"…He's one of the best two-way players in the state," Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. "He's a great football player. He takes over games and he took over this game a little bit…like i told our kids today: 'Don't hang your heads. Everything we want, we can get in the season. We just got to get better in certain situations and when it's time to make plays, we got to make plays. I was proud of the way they fought."
"My mindset is no one can stop Drew Surges," Surges continued. "I believe that, so I'll just keep doing my thing and we'll see where it goes from here."
In the first half, the. North Stars began at a blistering pace. A fake reverse on the opening kickoff set them up in Geneva territory and they later cashed in on a seven-play drive by Surges' 3-yard rushing score to open the game 7-0.
Geneva's first possession stalled, but a personal foul on the punt prolonged the drive, later ending in another punt.
The North Stars then scored on a 12-play drive by John Vendl for a 2-yard rushing score for the 14-0 lead with 10:35 left in the half.
Geneva eventually ripped off a touchdown scoring drive, capped by Nate Stempowski's scrambling pass to find Taylor 8 yards out for the score, but the extra point was blocked and the North Stars led 14-6 with 2:39 left.
Surges, on 4th-and-1 from the Geneva-22, rumbled in for his second touchdown of the half to make it 21-6 North Stars at halftime.
To open the third quarter, Surges cashed in on a 19-yard score, but it was answered by Geneva in an eventual Taylor 1-yard rush. The two point conversion was thwarted by Aidan Zocher to keep it 28-12 North Stars with 4:06 in the third quarter.
Plumb then found Surges for a 16-yard passing score the next drive for the 35-12 advantage to open the fourth quarter.
Geneva's Troy Velez added a 7-yard rushing score with 6:02 left and Stempowski completed the two point conversion try to Michael Loberg to make it 35-20 with 6:05 left.
Stempowski finished 13-for-25 for 134 passing yards. Velez had 51 rushing yards. Taylor had five catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. Plumb was 12-for-15 passing for 129 yards and a TD.
"Great defensive game plan by Keith Snyder. Great offensive game plan by Brian Flynn and great special teams game plan by Joe Groff," Pomazak said. "The staff did an amazing job of preparing the kids and keeping our focus on track. And, the boys, they're just a really special group who understands that they got to go to work every day, got to practice hard and they want to go out and play hard."