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North’s fourth-quarter comeback stuns Larkin
| Andrew A. Nelles~For Sun-Times Media |
Updated: October 8, 2011 12:00AM
In a reversal of fortune for both teams, it was St. Charles North dealing Larkin a heartbreaking defeat Friday night.
All signs pointed to another second-half comeback for the host Royals when they scored 19 straight points in the third quarter to surge to a two-possession lead. But a North Stars squad that has endured its share of gut-wrenching losses this season rewrote the script with 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 29-25 Upstate Eight River win at Memorial Field.
Junior quarterback Ryan Fischbach capped his first varsity start with a 10-yard fade pass to Garrett Johnson for the go-ahead touchdown with 4:50 left as St. Charles North (2-5, 2-2) notched its second straight victory and also dealt Larkin (3-4, 2-2) a serious blow to its playoff hopes.
“(Larkin) came up in a goal line (defense) and we thought we could get behind them,” St. Charles North coach Mark Gould said of the game-winning touchdown. “Fischbach had a couple guys open, but he went for the touchdown, which is fine.”
The Royals still had plenty of time to mount one last drive, and they marched 39 yards in five plays to set up third-and-1 from the St. Charles North 41-yard line. But with standout offensive lineman Alex Schabert knocked out of the game with an injury earlier in the fourth quarter and junior running back Mo Jackson limping off the field earlier in the drive, Larkin was unable to gain the one yard it needed for a first down.
Senior quarterback Kyle Newquist, who completed 16-of-26 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns, was stopped for no gain on a botched handoff on third down. Following a Royals timeout, backup fullback Kory Plate was stopped for no gain on a run up the middle, turning the ball over on downs with 1:18 left.
“In my eyes that’s (the offensive coordinator’s) fault,” Larkin coach Mike Scianna said. “I would have thrown the ball. We’re a passing team, and without Mo we should have thrown the ball.
“I feel like we failed the kids, and I’m going to let them all know about it.”
Senior Shaquille Mosley caught eight passes for 116 yards and recovered a pair of fumbles for the Royals. Senior Justin Banks added seven catches for 116 yards and Jackson ran for 131 yards on 24 carries.
Larkin trailed 14-6 at halftime, but it recovered an onside kick to begin the third quarter. Five plays later Jackson scored his second touchdown of the game on an 8-yard run to pull the Royals within 14-12.
The momentum remained in Larkin’s favor as Newquist hit Mosley for a 4-yard go-ahead touchdown on its next possession. St. Charles North’s George Edlund fumbled for the second time in the contest on the first play of the ensuing Stars possession, and the Royals cashed in three plays later when Banks scored on a 73-yard bubble screen down the left sideline to put Larkin ahead 25-14 with 1:21 left in the third quarter.
St. Charles North answered right back with a six-play touchdown drive on its next possession, capped by Edlund’s 7-yard scoring run with 10:39 left. Edlund then carried on the first six plays of the game-winning drive and finished the night with 188 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 32 carries.
“We worked really hard and the guys played great,” Edlund said. “We knew we were down and I put the ball on the ground, but we never quit.
“You have to have confidence after you make mistakes, and that shows what kind of team we are.”
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