Rough Debuts for STC Football Squads

Football coaches often say that teams make their biggest improvements from the first week to the second week of the season.

St. Charles East coach Mike Fields and St. Charles North coach Mark Gould certainly hope that rings true after what happened to their respective teams in their season debuts Aug. 27.

While the Saints were outscored 43-0 over the final three quarters during their 56-7 non-conference loss to Carmel in Mundelein, things weren't a whole lot better in South Elgin where the North Stars suffered a 52-13 defeat at the hands of the Storm.

St. Charles East

For one quarter, St. Charles East felt pretty good about its chances after Mike Brown's 1-yard touchdown run gave the Saints a 7-6 lead.

But things unraveled from there, as the high-powered Corsairs offense tallied 50 unanswered points behind a ground game that generated a school-record 557 yards.

Junior backfield mates Michael Panico and Jordan Kos powered their way past the Saints' defense. While Panico rushed for 236 yards and two TDs, Kos single-handedly scored four consecutive touchdowns on runs covering 56, 54, 24 and 38 yards, respectively.

Brown, who didn't play football last season while concentrating on track, was the Saints' leading ground gainer with 81 yards on 27 carries. Brown's older brother, John, starred for St. Charles East from 2004-06.

Junior quarterback Charlie Fisher completed 8 of 14 passes for 64 yards.

The Saints will face Naperville North in their home opener Friday, Sept. 3.

St. Charles North

After graduating all 11 defensive starters from last year's team that advanced to the Class 7A state quarterfinals, St. Charles North's inexperience was evident during its 39-point loss to South Elgin.

The North Stars' defense allowed 325 yards rushing to a South Elgin team that saw its postseason hopes dashed by St. Charles North a year ago in the opening round of the 7A playoffs.

North Stars junior halfback Adolfo Pacheco rushed for 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just 12 carries, while senior Brad Birchfield added 119 yards and three TDs.

South Elgin scored the game's first 31 points and led 38-7 at halftime. The North Stars' lone TD was a 63-yard pass from Matt Shiltz to Andrew Elliott.

Bruising running back Dirk Schmitt scored the North Stars' other TD on a 3-yard pass from Shiltz, who started in place of veteran signal-caller Jake Bergren, who is expected to miss the first three or four games with a broken hand suffered during a summer baseball game in mid-July.

St. Charles North visits McHenry Sept. 3.