THE SKINNY
In a game pitting rivals of contrasting styles, St. Charles East’s no-huddle passing attack came from eight behind in the fourth quarter to force overtime and win it 28-21 over the grind-it-out St. Charles North Stars. The winning score saw Brannon Barry run it in on an end around off the left side from 10 yards out. The Saints’ (3-0, 1-0 Upstate Eight River) defense then stopped a fourth-down pass from the seven to lock it up.
TURNING POINT
St. Charles East quarterback Jimmy Mitchell found running back Erik Anderson for a 34-yard touchdown pass down the left side with 3:15 left in the game. After an illegal man downfield penalty wiped out a two-point conversion, the Saints tied it on a Mitchell-to-Mitch Munroe conversion pass, making overtime possible.
THE STAR
Mitchell went 14-for-28 for 228 yards and two touchdowns, including a 90-yarder for a score to Munroe on the Saints’ second play from scrimmage.
BY THE NUMBERS
Running back Evan Kurtz powered for 240 yards on 36 carries and three touchdowns, including a 76-yard run that gave St. Charles North (1-2, 0-1) a 21-13 lead in the fourth quarter.
QUOTABLE
“There’s just so much heart with these guys. We’ve been talking about it since day one. St. Charles (East) football hasn’t ever been very far in the playoffs so we’re looking to change that. After a 3-0 start we’re going into Neuqua Valley locked and loaded next week.” -Mitchell
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ST. CHARLES EAST 28, ST. CHARLES NORTH 21 (OT) St. Charles North 0 7 7 7 0 – 21 St. Chares East 7 0 0 14 7 — 28 STCE – Mitch Munroe 90 pass from Jimmy Mitchell (Pat Frio kick), 8:02, 1st STCN – Evan Kurtz 4 run (Kat Stutesman kick) 5:05, 2nd. STCN – Kurtz 1 run (Stutesman kick), 1:00, 3rd STCE – Ramon Lopez 4 run (kick failed), 8:31, 4th STCN – Kurtz 76 run (Stutesman kick) 5:08, 4th. STCE – Erik Anderson 34 pass from Mitchell (Munroe pass from Mitchell) 3:15, 4th STCE – Brannon Barry 10 run (Anderson kick) OT Team Stats STCN STCE First downs 20 14 Comp.-att.-int. 8-17-0 14-30-2 Passing yards 55 228 Rushing att.-yards 56-344 22-74 Total yards 399 302 Fumbles-lost 4-1 3-1 Penalties 9-96 7-50 Individual Statistics: Rushing: St. Charles North – Kurtz 36-240, Erik Miller 16-86, Dylan Hunter 1-0, Reece Conroyd 3-18. St. Charles East – Ramon Lopez 7-17, Barry 1-10, Mitchell 1-(-)11, Anderson 13-58. Passing: St. Charles North – Miller 8-16-0-55, Kurtz 0-1-0. St. Charles East – Mitchell 14-28-1-206, Mitch Dupis 1-1-0-22, Munroe 0-1-1. Receiving: St. Charles North – Garrett Johnson 2-12, Hunter 3-23, Ron Merriwether 1-7, Kurtz 1-3, Nate Newbill 1-10. St. Charles East – Munroe 6-148, Barry 4-26, Lopez 1-8, Morgan Flanigan 1-7, Anderson 2-39.
