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North Stars eye return to form
August 22, 2011 | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media
Updated: August 23, 2011 9:12PM
Demoralizing doesn’t begin to describe the end of St. Charles North’s football season last year.
Needing a victory in Week 9 to qualify for the playoffs for the ninth straight year, the North Stars fell short against bitter rival St. Charles East 16-14, thus ending the area’s longest streak of consecutive postseason appearances.
Rather than wallow in defeat, however, St. Charles North’s underclassmen decided to take matters into their own hands.
“We’d just finished the last weekend of the season last year when Sunday night I get a call from some of our juniors, who were telling me that we’ve got to have a meeting,” St. Charles North coach Mark Gould said. “I told them, ‘Consider it done.’
“These guys were focused all offseason on not having what happened last year happen again. They are very motivated to get themselves back in the playoffs.”
A big reason the North Stars finished 4-5 last year and failed to reach the playoffs for only the second time in program history was a porous defense that allowed 34.6 points per game. So it comes as no surprise that shoring things up on that side of the ball was a main priority during the offseason.
Seniors Shawn Meaney (6-foot-2, 240) and Hayden Lewis (6-3, 230) both return as starters to the defensive line and will play a big part in leading the unit. Junior Wes Pasholk (6-2, 215) will be another key contributor up front.
Senior Sam Scorby (5-10, 205) is the only returning linebacker, and the other starting spots at the position remain undetermined.
Seniors Michael Schroeder (5-11, 170) and Shawn Collins (5-9, 175) return to the defensive backfield. They’ll be joined by junior Nicholas McCullough (6-0, 170), a newcomer who will handle free safety duties.
“Right now, without playing a game, we feel pretty good the way the defense looks,” Gould said. “We feel we’re faster, more aggressive and stronger than what we were last year.”
A trio of quarterbacks is fighting for the starting job, and Gould said he might use two QBs in Friday’s opener before settling on a regular signal caller. Senior Collin Peterson (5-10, 155) and juniors Ryan Fischbach (6-4, 180) and Grant Loess (5-9, 150) are the three players in the mix.
Whoever lands the starting job will have several capable targets as seniors Oshay Hodges (6-2, 175) and Patrick Donlevy (6-1, 175) headline a deep wide receiver corps.
Senior center Kyle Breith (6-2, 260), senior guard Dan Cassidy (6-3, 215) and senior tackle Andrew Diehl (6-4, 260) all return to the offensive line.
The ground attack will be led by senior running back Will Ohlrich (6-0, 195). The North Stars will also be looking for big things from junior running back George Edlund (5-10, 180), who is yet another varsity newcomer that will be called upon to contribute for the offense.
“We’re a little concerned about our lack of experience at the skill positions,” Gould said. “We’ll have to see how quickly they adjust and come along.”
ST. CHARLES NORTH NORTH STARS
2010 record: 4-5
Coach: Mark Gould (57-44 in 11th season at North; 60-50 career)
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