Surges sparks St. Charles North's comeback win at Lake Park
Drew Surges usually does a lot for the St. Charles North football team.
On Friday night, the junior did even more.
Adding punting and kicking duties to his already full plate, Surges scored three touchdowns to lead the North Stars to a come-from-behind 31-22 win at Lake Park in the DuKane Conference.
His last score, a 50-yarder with 4:37 remaining, proved to be the game-winner and brought an end to a three-game losing streak for the North Stars (3-3, 1-3). Surges, who also plays linebacker on defense, finished with 107 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
"This was really big," said Surges, who kicked a 26-yard field goal in the third quarter. "We fought back in that second half. We were down but we kept fighting back. Just a great victory in general.
"My legs are definitely tired, field goals are tough. But it feels really good, I love playing this game."
The North Stars also received a spark from junior quarterback Will Vaske, who entered the game before halftime with St. Charles North trailing 14-7.
His 40-yard scamper on the North Stars' first possession of the second half set up Surges' 3-yard tying TD run. Vaske then added a 29-yard scoring run of his own with 1:53 left in the game to account for the final margin.
He finished with 74 yards on four carries while completing 5-of-11 passes for 60 yards.
"I think it was the feeling of defeat (the past three weeks) that got us through that game," said Vaske, who transferred in from Marmion during the summer and had seen a little action in the two previous games. "We didn't want that feeling again. This feeling we are feeling right now, it feels great.
"Our seniors really stepped up and led us and we got it done on the field."
Defensively Jake Furtney had a pair of sacks and Brody Geary contributed an interception.
"I'm proud of our kids," said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak, whose team lost two of their three games by a combined five points. "It hasn't been an easy season. We start a lot of young guys and we've had a lot of injuries abnormally. But a lot of guys came in and did a great job. The kids showed a lot of guts, they fought really hard."
Lake Park (1-5, 1-3) took a 22-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run by quarterback Frank Moorman. The senior rushed for 48 yards and threw for 178, connecting with Myles Towbridge and Michael Mangialardi for TD passes in the first half.
Mangialardi also picked off a pass on defense.