Outscoring opponents 83-7 over the first two weeks of the season has St. Charles East flying high – but still seeking even higher altitude.

Clayton Isbell’s four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) and 270 yards of total offense powered the Saints (2-0) to a 42-0 win at Glenbard East on Sept. 1. But 110 yards in penalties provide a check on too much September euphoria.

“I know 42-0 sounds like we should be really happy, but we’re capable of executing at a higher level,” East coach Bryce Farquhar said. “The kids have high expectations for the season, and if they want to accomplish those, we can’t have the mental mistakes we had tonight.”

But the Saints’ offense and defense responded to every mistake with brilliance.

Isbell struck in the first quarter by ground (a 53-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead) and air (a 40-yard TD pass to Ronan Macaluso) to put the Saints up 14-0.

Then – after East's defense repelled a second Rams drive of the half inside the 20 (ending with a missed 38-yard field goal) – an 11-play, 80-yard march ended with an Isbell-to-Daniel Goetsch 13-yard TD pass on a third down rollout 1:09 before the half to make it 21-0.

Known more as a running quarterback, Isbell (3-of-7 passing for 85 yards) added a new facet to his game.

“We saw [on film] that they had one safety high, so we worked on different passing routes,” Isbell said. “We did extra work, and it worked today.

“Scoring touchdowns is great. Throwing or running doesn’t matter.”

“Clayton did a really nice job of reading and scanning the field tonight,” Farquhar said. “We don’t pass the ball a lot, but they gave him opportunities, and he did a nice job.

“He just makes plays. He has the ability to move within space, and it allows him to be a playmaker on the field.”

After stopping two Rams drives in the first half, the Saints’ defense allowed minus-22 yards in the second half.

“Our defense did a great job – that’s the story of tonight,” Farquhar said. “They came up big in the right spots. We stopped their drives early in the game and turned those into points. That really helped our kids’ mentality.”

The offensive line of Aidan Flynn, Alex Cox, Justin Hall, Dylan Barrett and Alexander Pahadi excelled on a decisive nine-minute scoring drive (all on runs) to open the second half. A 23-yard Justin Jett burst on fourth down setup the score, and Macaluso’s nine-yard TD run on fourth down and six finished the 67-yard march.

“Right now, all the offensive line are doing a great job,” Isbell said.“They’re gaining more and more experience, so we’re excited to see what they’re going to do.”

TD runs by Jett (1-yarder with 9:59 left) and Isbell (7-yard run with 7:02 to go) wrapped up the 42-0 margin. Isbell finished with 184 yards rushing on 15 carries.