Surges sets St. Charles North touchdowns mark in triumph over Lake Park

ROSELLE – St. Charles North put visiting Lake Park on the ropes early Sept. 30.

The Lancers got off those ropes and put up a fight late, but the North Stars prevailed 27-13.

“I was proud of them. They set the tone going up 21-0. It’s a challenge to keep focused,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. “That’s a good team over there. I give them a lot of credit. Chris Kirkpatrick is a great coach and I’m glad he’s in the DuKane Conference.”

It was a huge night for Drew Surges. The North Stars senior running back scored all of his team’s touchdowns and rushed for a game-high 173 yards.

His big achievement came on the third touchdown when he became the school’s all-time touchdowns leader.

“It’s awesome. It was one of my goals to be the best,” he said.

With every successful running back usually there’s an equally successful offensive line.

Guards Chris Smith, Jessie Moreno and Gabe Tate, center Evan Goade and tackles Henry Warsaw and Cole Schertz make up St. Charles North’s line.

“They are a great group of guys. We’re super close. They block and they know I’ll make the right move,” Surges said.

The spark that started the North Stars’ surge in the first quarter came when Alex Valenzuela blocked a Lake Park punt and it was recovered by Alex Kuchta.

That led to Surges scoring on a 2-yard run on a four-play drive with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

About two-and-a-half minutes later, the offensive line opened some big holes and Surges outsprinted the Lancers’ defensive secondary en route to a 68-yard TD run.

The next Lake Park possession was a short one. Drake Javorek recovered a fumble and Surges made good with a 1-yard TD run.

“[Surges] is just a tremendous athlete on a different level. I don’t think I have seen that type of athlete in 21 years,” said Pomazak, whose team improved to 5-1 and 4-0 in the DuKane Conference.

Lake Park dropped to 1-5, 1-3.

St. Charles North got 35- and 40-yard field goals from Hunter Liszka in the second half.

The Lancers got on the board in the second quarter with just 32.3 seconds remaining on a 3-yard TD pass from Michael McCormick to Matthew Rodriguez.

Lake Park got to within two scores on a 1-yard pass from Dominic Pellegrino to Michael Pitello with 5:11 left. The Lancers recovered the onside kick, but could not reach the end zone again.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20220930/surges-sets-st-charles-north-touchdowns-mark-in-triumph-over-lake-park