Fields, St. Charles East notch first win by downing Streamwood
By Craig Brueske | Daily Herald correspondent
Published: 9/12/2009 12:49 AM
After playing a pair of rugged nonconference opponents in Geneva and Naperville North to open its season, St. Charles East's football team was
ready to get back into Upstate Eight Conference action Friday night.
Scoring just 2 touchdowns in their first 2 games, the Saints (1-2, 1-0) exploded for 28 first-half points - 21 of them coming within a 3 1/2-minute span in the second quarter - on the way to a convincing 41-7 victory over Streamwood (1-2, 0-1) at Norris Stadium.
Following an emotional postgame team meeting, quarterback Nolan Possley, safety/running back Matt Payne and tight end/defensive end Jess Striedl presented Mike Fields with the game ball for his first varsity victory as Saints head coach.
"I just feel satisfaction for the kids - it's not about me," said Fields, who served as a varsity assistant/sophomore coach at Geneva for 10 years before his arrival at St. Charles East.
"I'm just so happy for the kids. This will hit me maybe Sunday or maybe in the off-season. Right now, I just want to do the best job I can do to get prepared for South Elgin (next week's opponent)."
After trading punts early, the Saints capped a 10-play, 49-yard drive with Matt Payne's 12-yard TD run late in the opening quarter. Payne, who rushed for 3 touchdowns on just 5 carries (49 yards) while also contributing as a defensive starter, carried a Streamwood tackler on his back into the end zone to give the Saints a 7-0 lead.
Streamwood came right back to score the equalizer on the ensuing drive as sophomore quarterback Dalton Lundeen hooked up with Matt Woods on a 30-yard TD toss.
"The kid made a great catch on that one," Fields said of Woods, who wrestled the ball away from a Saints defender in the end zone.
That's when the Saints' offense kicked it into another gear - with plenty of help from the special teams unit.
Payne took a pitch from Possley (9-of-16, 113 yards) and raced 10 yards around the right end for the go-ahead touchdown with 5:31 left in the second quarter.
On the Sabres' next possession, Bryce Barry shot through the line untouched to block a punt that Jonathan Voytilla recovered in the end zone for a TD and 21-7 lead.
Less than 2 minutes later, Sabres punter Dion Banda fielded a high snap from center and was unable to escape the hard-charging Barry, who forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Andrew Carrano.
"I was trying to make a spark for our team," said Barry, who later added an interception. "We just wanted to come in here and play our hearts out tonight."
On the very next play, Payne cut inside for a 14-yard TD run that extended the Saints' halftime lead to 28-7.
"This is my first year as a running back and I love it," said Payne. "I'm still learning about things like reading blocks but that will come as I get more carries."
Although the Saints added a pair of fourth-quarter TDs (Possley's 6-yard run and Zach Zajicek's 30-yard run), Sabres coach Cal Cummins felt the game slip away during the final stages of the first half.
"It was 7-7 and we were playing good football - and all of a sudden it unraveled there in about four minutes," said Cummins. "It gave them the momentum and confidence to start coming after us."
The Saints' defense did just that, led by Phil Bucaro (8 tackles, sack), Striedl (6 tackles, sack) and Barry (5 tackles), as St. Charles East avoided a 0-3 start.
"I think we needed this one a lot," said Payne. "We've heard people saying that the offense couldn't get it done. I think we showed tonight by the score that we've begun to gel as a group."