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St. Charles East slips past Glenbard North

St. Charles East grounded out a 29-26 victory over Glenbard North in its home opener Friday night on a new turf field.

The Saints gained all of their 300 yards rushing in the DuKane Conference contest.

Quarterback William Crossen and running back Justin Jett accounted for most of the yardage. Crossen scored 3 touchdowns and gained 140 yards on 23 carries, while Jett rambled 20 times for 133 yards and one TD.

"We knew they are good leaders there and we knew that they are veterans of the team, and they really led us tonight," said Saints coach Bryce Farquhar.

"Our bread and butter was our offensive line," said Jett. "They just kept pushing us forward. They enabled us backs to find the holes."

St. Charles East (3-0, 1-0) was also added by 2 penalties against Glenbard North that negated two Panther scores.

"They were brutal, just brutal," said Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens. "Two touchdowns were called back and that's huge."

St. Charles East scored on its first possession. Crossen capped a 13-play drive with a 10-yard run up the middle to put the Saints up 7-0 at the 4:45 mark in the first quarter.

The Panthers responded with their own scoring drive, covering 63 yards in 9 plays. With 48 seconds left in the quarter, Jordan McQuarter (126 yards on 16 carries) crossed the end zone on a 1-yard plunge to tie the score 7-7.

The Saints retook the lead, 14-7 with 1:30 left in the half. Jett swept to his right and ran 18 yards for the score.

The Panthers (0-3, 0-1) took the lead in the third quarter on back-to-back scores. McQuarter scored his second touchdown on the Panthers' first possession of the second half on a 3-yard run. After Panther kicker Kyle Hirsig recovered an onside kick, McQuarter crossed the goal-line a third time on another 3-yard run to put his team ahead, 19-14.

St. Charles East regained the lead, with 4:26 left in the quarter, 22-19 on Crossen's 8-yard run and a 2-point conversion by Ronan Macalauso.

A 71-yard TD pass by Panthers quarterback Michael Vasquez to Kobie Jamison put North back on top, 26-22. Vasquez completed 10 of 16 passes for 192 yards.

"He had a really nice night," Wilkens said of Vasquez. "He had poise and control."

Crossen's third touchdown, a 7-yard run with 4:26 left to play, put the Saints on top for good.

"It's awesome," Farquhar said about the new field. "It's just beautiful turf. I think everybody did a great job with it."

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