St. Charles North coach Mark Gould (center) says playing Glenbard West represents "a different type of big game." (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@kcchronicle.com)
The seniors on the St. Charles North football team stomached the sour taste of one-and-done playoff football as sophomores and juniors, carrying on a disappointing fall tradition that was almost exclusively the norm from the time North first cracked the playoffs in 2002.
"We'd go in and then lose right away," North wide receiver Jeff Stolzenburg said. "It was awful."
"Bittersweet" might better capture the overall consensus. Playing past Week 9 still inspired pride in the young program; North just wanted some playoff success to go along with it.
The 2006 North Stars shot past the first round before this year's bunch did them one better, entering today's IHSA Class 7A quarterfinal at Glenbard West in a different state of in-between.
"I'm sure there's a little bit of pressure," junior quarterback Jake Bergren said, "but it's just a great feeling. You grow up here and you watch the varsity, you always think, 'Man, they got so close. Maybe we'll do better. Maybe when we get there, we'll be better.'
"To actually come out and get to where we're at and do what we've done, it's just a great feeling."
Football talk picked up in the North hallways this week. That wasn't always the case in the one-and-done years.
A student body immersed in such a diverse palate of athletics and activities turned its interests largely to the gridiron after North survived Elk Grove Village, 20-14, in last week's second-round game.
North welcomes the added weight to an increasingly enthusiastic bandwagon.
"I think everybody feels it," said Mark Gould, the lone coach in program history. "They realize that for us, it's territory that we've never been in before. They realize they're playing a team that's done well in the playoffs the past few years and before that they won the state championship [in 1983]. You certainly get the feeling that this is a different type of big game."
Unbeaten Glenbard West boasts an effective double-wing offense that builds big leads for an even more decorated 3-3 defense.
The Hilltoppers allowed two late scores in last week's 27-14 second-round win at Rockton Hononegah but left northwest Illinois in high spirits.
North felt similarly after racing to the first 3-0 start in school history. A defense that solely started seniors until defensive end Brian Pedersen's recent disciplinary absence offered junior Michael Claney a chance has played well most of the season, and the offense followed suit, solving South Elgin in the first round after losing to the Storm in overtime in Week 8.
"Once we got over the hump," Stolzenburg, "we're rolling."
Hallway talkers wished players well this week and told them they were pulling for them.
Talking in their own circles, the North Stars realized one key to getting past the first round was pulling for themselves.
"There's been teams that could have done it, they just didn't believe," senior defensive tackle Josh Peters said. "They didn't play to the best of their ability. That's what we did. We ultimately believed we could beat anybody they threw at us."
Even against playoff competition, that mindset hasn't changed.
