Owen Yorke knew that Wheaton Warrenville South needed to put away Friday’s game.

After falling to St. Charles North in comeback fashion in each of the past two seasons, the senior running back knew that even with a 26-7 lead and six minutes remaining on the clock, anything was possible.

So as he stood ready in the backfield to get his 40th carry on the night, he knew he needed to do what he had been all night.

“I just told the guys that we’ve been up in these situations and they came back and won,” Yorke said.

Yorke took his final touch of the night 40 yards to the house, putting him at 285 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the night, all career-highs, to help the Tigers take down the North Stars 33-7.

“I’ve said it before, I think he’s one of the best backs in the state, and he continues to improve and get better and further emphasize that statement,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Sean Norris said. “I’m super proud of him. He comes up in big situations. That’s a large load to carry, but credit to our offensive line and our blockers.”

The Tigers (5-2 overall, 4-1 DuKane) established their senior back very early into the contest, with Yorke going for 135 yards through the team’s first two offensive possessions, which were both capped off with touchdown runs from him.

But it didn’t matter to Yorke how many times he got the ball in the game.

“It didn’t matter when I got tired, I’ll do anything for these boys,” Yorke said. “I love all of them to death, and I’d go for 50 against these guys.”

Coming out of halftime holding a 13-7 lead, WW South didn’t change up its game plan one bit. Relying on Yorke’s legs, the Tigers took off 8:24 from the clock before Yorke punched in his third touchdown of the night.

And just a minute later, they were back to doing the same thing after the defense got a turnover on downs in just four plays.

“The whole team was prepared for this moment, and I couldn’t be more proud of them for showing that,” Norris said. “They played physical football, they came up in big situations and showed a lot of heart and competitive edge. They’ve got an explosive offense, and our defense stepped up to the challenge really well and stayed disciplined. I think they really made a statement of who we are and the football we want to play.”

The Tigers’ fifth win ties them for their most wins in a season since Norris joined back in 2021. And with two games remaining and a shot to potentially go for their first DuKane Conference title, they’re hoping the big win will be the boost that they need.

“This is just the biggest confidence booster,” Yorke said. “When we lost to Geneva earlier this year, it kind of brought us down, but this brings us to an all-time high. This group is special, and I believe that.”

For St. Charles North (6-1, 4-1), the loss put an end to its longest winning streak to start the season, as well as its hopes for the first undefeated season in school history.

“Undefeated seasons don’t make or break you, you’ve just got to play better football than we did,” North Stars coach Rob Pomazak said. “They executed a great game plan and they beat us in every facet. But we’ll be back, it doesn’t change our goals. We’ve just got to get better and improve over the next two weeks, and then we’ll be in the playoffs.”

The North Stars had their only touchdown of the night in the second quarter, when quarterback JT Padron (15 of 25, 205 yards) found wide receiver Keaton Reinke (six catches for 138 yards) for a 78-yard touchdown to make it 13-7.

“We just didn’t touch the ball enough on offense,” Pomazak said. “Defensively, we just couldn’t get off the field, and in the second half we started doing some things that maybe go against what the book is telling you to do, and it just put ourselves in the corner.”