Royals hang tough against North Stars
Larkin couldn't muster much offense against St. Charles North for the second straight year.
With that said, the Royals did show significant strides in their 20-7 loss against the North Stars on Friday night.
Not much separated the teams as North benefitted from some good field position and timely execution in a meeting of two of the area's most hard-nosed squads.
Larkin was well within striking distance going into the fourth quarter down 14-7. It was a much different scenario the previous year, when the North Stars enjoyed a running clock throughout the second half while rolling to a 41-0 win.
It wasn't a thing of beauty this time for North, which kept its Upstate Eight Conference title hopes alive with the win. But coach Mark Gould wasn't about to complain about clawing for a victory against a Royals team that is clearly trending upward despite its 0-2 UEC record.
"We know Larkin is a different team than they've been the last few years." Gould said. "They were hard to block and they made us fight for everything we could get. I was worried our guys were thinking about last year's score a little too much. Larkin wasn't 3-1 coming in for nothing."
With three straight games coming up against opponents with 1-4 records or worse, Larkin shouldn't have much trouble reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Staying focused shouldn't be a problem for this group, which is playing a disciplined brand of football under second-year coach Matt Gehrig.
But if the Royals want to advance in the postseason, they will need to avoid an offensive performance like the one they made against the North Stars.
Larkin managed only 71 total yards and senior Jalen Williams was limited to a season-low 48 yards on 20 carries after running for a career-high 364 yards the previous week. Those numbers weren't much better than the 57 yards Larkin mustered in its ugly loss at North in 2008.
It's clear that the scrappy Royals defense is up to the challenge against any opponent this season, but the offense simply wasn't able to rise to the occasion against a speedy North defense led by senior linebacker Ben Dvorak.
"(North) is a good football team and they've got some big strong kids and at times they out hit us," Larkin coach Matt Gehrig said. "In a close, defensive game like this, usually the team that hits the hardest is going to come out on top. As a coaching staff, we've got to make sure we don't get out-hit again this season."
The regular season is now officially beyond the halfway point, but there is still time for Larkin and the rest of the area's teams to make adjustments. No local squad has been eliminated from playoff contention yet, but the climb is much tougher for some than others.
With Week 6 on the horizon, here is a quick look back at Week 5.
This was a must-win if the Rockets wanted to maintain a realistic shot at reaching the playoffs, and junior quarterback Tim Maroder and his teammates answered the call in their Big Northern Conference East Division opener.
The Red Raiders looked like a lock to make the playoffs after charging to a 3-0 start, but back-to-back disappointing losses raise some concerns as state-ranked Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South loom the next two weeks.
Larkin at Elgin, 11:30 a.m. on Saturday -- The Royals are looking for their seventh straight win against the Maroons in the Town Jug series.
St. Charles East at Waubonsie Valley, 7:30 p.m. on Friday -- Major UEC title implications will be on the line as the Saints look to win on the road for the third straight week.
