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Midway through the opening quarter Friday night at Lake Park, St. Charles North linebacker Aidan McClure got his first interception of the season.
He wasn’t done at that point, though. Not by a long shot.
McClure tacked on 2 more interceptions later to make it 3 for the game, and the North Stars responded from an early deficit to score a 42-14 DuKane Conference win over the Lancers.
St. Charles North (6-2, 4-2) rushed for 5 touchdowns in the victory.
“I’m just grateful for my teammates and coaches tonight,” McClure said. “They put me in the position to succeed. I just made the plays.”
“This was his first time playing outside linebacker for us and he did a great job,” said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak of McClure.
“We feel like he’s an all-state football player down the road, and he’s a tremendous young man.”
Lake Park dedicated its West Campus stadium before the game, renaming it Bob Monken Field in honor of the long-time Lancers coach.
Then the Lake Park players added to the festivities by scoring a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.
Quarterback George Tzamouranis connected with wide receiver Matthew Rodriguez on a 71-yard TD toss to make it 7-0 home team just 17 seconds in to the contest.
“It was a really hot start,” said Lake Park coach Chris Kirkpatrick. “Our guys were fired up to play this game.”
But St. Charles North responded with 5 first-half scores to take a 35-7 lead into halftime.
QB Ethan Plumb had 2 short touchdown runs; Joell Holloman rushed for a 3-yard TD while Jake Mettetal tallied from 1-yard away; and Plumb threw a 40 yard scoring pass to Anthony Taormina.
“We’re resilient,” McClure said. “We fight through any adversity, and a shoutout to our offense for keeping us in the game.”
Lake Park (4-4, 2-4) played much better defensively in the final two quarters, stopping the North Stars on its first two drives of the third quarter.
The visitors found the end zone again in the second half, however, when Holloman scored on a 5-yard rush.
Lake Park went on a long fourth-quarter drive and got the final touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run by junior Robert Munaco.
Munaco finished with 100 yards rushing, all in the second half.
“Lake Park does not quit,” said Kirkpatrick, who appreciated his team’s effort despite the final score.
“We’re very proud of the culture we’re quietly building here, and it’s a credit to our seniors.”
Plumb had 151 yards through the air for St. Charles North, while Holloman rushed for 84.
“Our boys fight really, really hard,” Pomazak said.
“They’re a bunch of dogs out there. They’re fast, they’re physical, and they did a great job tonight.
“They’re 6-2 now and playoff eligible. I’m so proud of them.”
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