St. Charles East clinches share of UEC title
By Craig Brueske | Daily Herald Correspondent
Published: 10/17/2009 1:08 AM
For the second consecutive week, St. Charles East made the most of its one offensive touchdown.
After being held to just 16 total yards of offense and 1 first down throughout an unimaginative first half, the Saints (6-2, 6-0) capped a 6-play, 79-yard drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Nolan Possley to Tyler Nutting on their first possession of the third quarter.
From there, the Saints rode their stingy defense the rest of the way, limiting Neuqua Valley (2-6, 2-3) to 87 second-half yards during Friday night's 7-3 victory in St. Charles.
"It's our defense," said Nutting, whose interception inside the Saints' 10-yard line with four seconds remaining helped preserve the team's sixth straight victory.
"That's what we do. We just come out here and do our jobs. We're making stops. I was in the right spot at the right time. It seemed like the ball was up there for a while.
"Coach T (defensive coordinator Brian Teresinski) comes up with a good scheme for us every week. That's two weeks in a row that our defense has held them (opponents) to three points."
Keeping opponents out of the end zone is definitely a recipe for success.
"They're a resilient bunch," said Saints' first-year head coach Mike Fields. "Our defense has been fantastic. I love our defense and they believe. After we scored the touchdown, our defensive players were saying, 'Coach, that's all we need.'
"We've just got to have one more point than they do. Two 7-3 games in a row like this - what an unbelievable season."
The victory, coupled with Lake Park's 36-14 loss to Waubonsie Valley, enabled the Saints to clinch at least a share of the Upstate Eight Conference title.
"We were fortunate enough tonight to get the 'W' and be able to move on and keep our dreams alive for the Upstate Eight title," said Fields. "That's been our goal from day one."
The win also assured St. Charles East of reaching the state playoffs for the fifth straight season.
"We're looking forward to the playoffs now that we're in," said Fields. "But we're not done yet. We've got a game with (St. Charles) North next week and they're good."
Against Neuqua, the Saints were good when they had to be, especially during their scoring drive.
Faced with a 3rd-and-15 from its own 16, STC East tailback Zach Zajicek gained 26 yards on a simple draw play to keep the drive alive.
"That was huge," admitted Fields.
Two plays later, Possley (4-of-8, 91 yards) hit tight end Jess Striedl (2 catches, 51 yards) on a 32-yard pass play before hooking up with Nutting on a perfectly thrown 27-yard TD toss with 9:44 left in the third quarter.
"That was a heck of a drive," said Fields. "But our offense has to be more consistent. If we can't run the ball, our play-action passing isn't going to open up."
Freshman Ryan Mulhern put Neuqua Valley on top 3-0 with his 20-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
But the Wildcats were unable to find the end zone, completing 19-of-51 passes for 195 yards.
"It was a better night to throw the ball but we just didn't get it done very well," said Wildcats coach Bryan Wells. "They did on their one drive they put together - and that hurt.
"We played well defensively but not well enough. We had the opportunity to win 3-0."