The St. Charles North football team has experienced its share of success throughout the years.

The North Stars added a program first to the record books with their 24-13 DuKane Conference victory over cross-town rival St. Charles East on Friday night at Norris Stadium.

While maintaining their hold on first place in the DuKane Conference at 4-0, the North Stars improved to 6-0 overall for the first time in school history.

“It doesn’t feel like we’re 6-0, but we’ll take it,” said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak, whose team pulled out a stunning 43-42 victory over Batavia last week. “It’s hard to win high school football games.”

Senior receiver Braden Harms (4 catches, 103 yards), who caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback JT Padron (22 of 33, 339 yards) to give the North Stars a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter, echoed those thoughts.

“It means a ton,” Harms said of the team’s 6-0 start. “Everyone has worked so hard to get to this moment. Clearly, this team is like no other.”

The game’s opening play helped set the tone for what was to come.

Keaton Reinke returned the kickoff 95 yards for an apparent St. Charles North touchdown — only to have a block in the back penalty bring the ball to the North Stars’ 10-yard line.

It was a sign of the times, as the North Stars committed 19 penalties for 185 yards.

“I’ve never really seen anything like that in my life,” Pomazak said. “Take it for what it’s worth — refereeing or us not executing.

“We talked about getting out early — and we did that with the kick return for a touchdown but then shot ourselves in the foot in the penalty. We took points off the boards there.”

Looking to build upon last weekend’s 24-20 victory over Wheaton North, the Saints (1-5, 1-3) were up to the challenge, thanks to a spirited defensive unit paced by Matthew Medina II, Declan Sons and Grayson Caine.

Junior tailback Johnny Solano (18 carries, 88 yards) scored on a 38-yard touchdown run, and Ryan Possin’s PAT kick tied the game at 7-7 with 3:33 left in the first half.

The North Stars responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Padron’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Christopher Akpede with 25 seconds left in the half to make it 14-7.

St. Charles East engineered an 8-play, 65-yard scoring drive of its own to start the second half, as sophomore quarterback Cruz Herrera (17 of 27, 144 yards) found Vincent Armato in the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.

However, the North Stars blocked the PAT kick, leaving the visitors on top 14-13.

“Cruz is getting better every single week,” Saints coach Nolan Possley said of his quarterback. “He’s consistently making plays. He’s playing well above his sophomore title.”

Lucas Tenbrock’s 44-yard field goal extended the North Stars’ lead to 17-13 midway through the fourth quarter.

Carsen Durante (15 carries, 100 yards) sealed the victory on his 61-yard touchdown run with 5:50 remaining.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Pomazak said. “We certainly are excited to be in the playoffs, but we’ve got to fix a few things.”

Reinke led the North Stars with 9 receptions for 174 yards.

“It was no surprise to us that we were in this game,” Possley said. “We have a good football team.”