Team at a glance
NICKNAME North Stars
COLORS Royal blue and black
STADIUM 255 Red Gate Road, St. Charles
ENROLLMENT 2,175
CLASS 7A
COACH Mark Gould
2007 RECORD 5-5
CONFERENCE 4-2, T-4th

TOP RETURNERS  
Nic Neari    sr.    QB
Jonathon DeMoss    sr.    WR
Kyle Harmon    sr.    RB
Josh Forni    sr.    OL
Matt Mautone    jr.    OL
Jake Juriga    sr.    LB
Mike Lefelstein    sr.    DB
Trevor Dunne    sr.    LB
Kyle Pocci    sr.    LB
Kasey Ro    sr.    DE

PROMISING NEWCOMERS
Jordan Huxtable    jr.    RB
Mike VanDril    sr.    OL
Sean McGushin    sr.    TE/QB
Eric Battle    sr.    RB
Chris Nelson    sr.    OL
Dominic Imbordino    jr.    LB

2008 schedule
Aug. 29    Cary-Grove    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 5    at McHenry    7:45 p.m.
Sept. 12    Streamwood    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 19    at T.F. North    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27    at Bartlett    12 p.m.
Oct. 4    at S. Elgin    12 p.m.
Oct. 10    Larkin    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 17    St. Charles E.    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 24    at Neuqua Valley    7:30 p.m.

Games to watch
Aug. 29 Cary-Grove Home win would be way better than last year’s 0-2 start
Sept. 27 at Bartlett North Stars would love to close the gap, and then some, after last year’s 30-point loss
Oct. 17 St. Charles East This needed no more buildup, then last year came down to stop on two-point try in final minutes to seal North’s 28-26 victory

five-year record
    overall    conference    playoffs
07    5-5         4-2         1st Rd.
‘06    7-4        5-2         2nd Rd.
‘05    6-4        5-2         1st Rd.
‘04    8-2        7-0         1st Rd.
‘03    5-5        5-2         1st Rd.


Insistent on being consistent
One of the issues St. Charles North dealt with last year was inconsistency. The team lost each of its first two games by a touchdown, won twice, lost homecoming by 30 and won three straight, the last 28-26 at St. Charles East — then came Neuqua Valley.
“They were fighting for their (playoff) life and we came off a big win,” Coach Gould said. “We scored on the first series, got it called back on a holding penalty and things got out of hand.”
That 45-0 loss, and the seven-point playoff loss to Moline still rankles the team.
“It probably took a month and a half to realize it was over,” Lefelstein said. “It killed because we beat them the year before and we know we could’ve won that game, too.”

Quarterback doubleheader?
As a junior, Neari won a close battle in preseason for the quarterback job and proceeded to amass more than 1,600 all-purpose yards as a dual-threat signal caller.
While Neari has a year of experience in his corner, the job is not automatically his. When fellow senior McGushin is not playing tight end, he could be under center.
“Sean has a nice strong arm and Nic has a little bit better feel for what we’re doing,” Gould said. “Each has some positives but we’re not sure how we’re going to divide playing time.”
But rely on the North Stars to reprise their shotgun offense with one running back and a few new formations.

How fine is the line?
One area of small concern, at least early, is the high turnover on both the offensive and defensive lines.
But talented players bided their time and now linemen like VanDril and Nelson have earned starting roles. And players such as defensive lineman Ro (also a standout heavyweight wrestler) will figure more prominently.
“With the line turnover, it does change things around a bit,” Gould said. “I’ve put a few new wrinkles in our defense (St. Charles North uses a 3-5 front) and we’re doing some different things on offense.”
St. Charles North may not be a smash-mouth group but players are confident team speed will cause trouble for opponents in 2008.

No reason to wait
St. Charles North is in just its eighth varsity season but the North Stars are continuing to set high standards.
After going 2-7 in Gould’s first year, the team has made the playoffs six straight season and tied Neuqua for the UEC title in 2004.
Within the conference, only Neuqua and Bartlett have matched the North Stars’ streak of finishing at .500 or above.
“It (string of playoff appearances) is something to hang your hat on but we’d certainly like to do better once we get into the playoffs,” Gould said of the program’s 1-6 postseason record. “But we should be up there fighting for UEC championships every year.”

SENIOR SAYS
Mike Lefelstein
What game are you looking forward to?
“Of course St. Charles East but a lot of us are anxious for Bartlett, who beat us pretty bad homecoming last year.”
How frustrating was last year’s inconsistency?
“It was really frustrating at times because we’d be doing good things in practice but then not see it reflected in the game.”
Why do you feel this year’s team will be better?
“You can see a sense of pride in practice, guys are flying all over the place. This is a tight group of guys. Everybody seems happy to be out there.”

By the numbers
66 Number of tackles last year by all-Upstate Eight Conference linebacker Jake Juriga, tops on the team. He also had a forced fumble and two pass deflections

1,606 Combined passing and rushing yards from quarterback Nic Neari. He also scored a total 14 touchdowns (9 passing, 5 rushing)

4 Number of wins the North Stars have in eight games against crosstown rival St. Charles East. Someone takes the series lead in the second-to-last game of the regular season Oct. 17