ST. CHARLES – With one spectacular defensive play, senior linebacker Dominic Imbordino lifted St. Charles North into the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
In a second half filled with major momentum swings, Elk Grove looked ready to wipe away a six-point deficit late in the fourth quarter when it recovered a North Stars fumble and marched deep inside North territory.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)
Facing third-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Grenadiers quarterback Nick Meyer lofted a pass in the direction of star receiver Matt McEnery in the back left corner of the end zone. McEnery managed to get a hand on the ball, but it was a leaping Imbordino who came up with a season-saving interception with 43 seconds left to lift the North Stars to a thrilling 20-14 victory in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
"That ball went up, he hit it, I hit it and then I just stuck my hands out and just grabbed it," Imbordino said. "I rolled over and looked at the ref because I thought they were going to call no catch. Then they did (call it a catch) and I just went wild."
Imbordino's heroics saved a North team that was on the verge of self destruction in the closing minutes. Despite dominating for much of the second half, the North Stars gave Elk Grove (7-4) hope with a pair of fumbles and three costly penalties in the final 8:30.
North (8-3) ties a school record for victories with the triumph and advances to play the winner of Saturday's game between Rockton Hononegah and undefeated Glenbard West.
"You could see Dominic had (McEnery) covered really good," North coach Mark Gould said. "He turned his head at the right moment, went up for it and it was picture perfect. It saved us in many, many ways."
After the teams traded three-and-out possessions to start the third quarter, the back-and-forth second half tipped in Elk Grove's favor when a shanked North Stars punt set up the Grenadiers with first-and-goal at North's 6-yard line. Three plays later Meyer connected with Joey Bishoff for a 3-yard touchdown pass that put the Grenadiers ahead 14-7.
As was the case in the first half, North answered Elk Grove's touchdown with a scoring drive of its own. The North Stars marched 83 yards in 12 plays, with senior receiver Jeff Stolzenburg grabbing his second touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jake Bergren with one second left in the third quarter. A missed extra point left the score 14-13.
North's defense stuffed Elk Grove on the ensuing possession, and the North Stars offense continued to roll after a Grenadiers punt. Junior Dirk Schmitt crossed the goal line on a 4-yard run to cap a nine-play, 58-yard drive that put North ahead for good 20-14 with 8:34 left.
"I was proud of the offense and how we came back and scored after we went down," Gould said. "We had some kids make some real big plays there. Dirk Schmitt ran real hard and Bergren had some really nice runs and a couple real nice throws."
North's defense did the rest, keeping constant pressure on the talented Meyer in the final minutes.
Senior linebackers Spencer Swarts and J.J. Weaver both recorded a pair of sacks as Meyer was held to 12 rushing yards on 23 carries. Elk Grove gained only 70 total yards of offense in the second half and finished with 181 for the game.
"The main thing was getting pressure on the quarterback," Imbordino said. "We knew he was good coming in so we just had to make sure that he didn't have time to throw and make decisions.
"I've got to give it to everyone else on our defense. We all played a phenomenal game. We all had to play as a team to win this one. It's just a great feeling."
Schmitt finished with a game-high 86 rushing yards on 17 carries. McEnery was the game's top receiver, racking up 116 yards and a touchdown on 11 catches.
"It was back and forth and was down to the wire," Elk Grove coach Brian Doll said. "Give credit to St. Charles because they played a good game."
ST. CHARLES NORTH 20, ELK GROVE 14
Elk Grove 0 7 7 0 — 14
St. Charles North 0 7 6 7 — 20
EG — McEnery 12 pass from Meyer (Brandt kick), 7:04
SCN — Stolzenburg 12 pass from Bergren (Harmon kick), 2:21
EG — Bishoff 3 pass from Meyer (Brandt kick), 6:36
SCN — Stolzenburg 4 pass from Bergren (kick failed), 0:01
SCN — Schmitt 4 run (Harmon kick), 8:34
Team statistics SCN EG
First downs 16 9
Comp.-att-int. 6-15-0 16-26-1
Passing yards 58 164
Rushing-att-yds. 41-189 25-17
Total yards 247 181
Fumbles-lost 3-2 0-0
Penalties-yards 5-45 5-35
Individual statistics
Rushing:
EG — Meyer 23-12, McEnery 2-5
SCN — Schmitt 17-86, Bergren 12-52, Hodges 12-44, Novak 1-7.
Passing:
EG — Meyer 16-26-1 164.
SCN — Bergren 6-15-0 58.
Receiving:
EG — McEnery 11-116, Bishoff 4-44, Stahl 1-4.
SCN — Stolzenburg 2-16, Mikes 1-16, Schmitt 1-11, Novak 1-10, Ghanem 1-5.