Experienced North defense a handful

St. Charles North coach Mark Gould doesn't have to worry about rookie mistakes from his defense.

That's because all 11 defensive starters for the North Stars are seniors, giving the team a level of experience second to none in the area.

To the untrained eye, an 11th-grader might not look that different from a 12th-grader, but for Gould that extra year can make all the difference.

"It seems like their football instincts are that much quicker and that much better," Gould said. "They seem to be a little bit smarter on the field and they know what's going to happen a lot faster."

The veteran leadership is paying off for North, which ranks second in the area with a defensive scoring average of 12.9 points per game.

The North Stars hope the experience continues to pay dividends going into their Class 7A playoff showdown against South Elgin on Saturday at Millennium Field.

The key to North's defensive success lies with its linebackers. Seniors Ben Dvorak (34 total tackles), J.J. Weaver and Dominic Imbordino (34 total tackles) are all in their second season as varsity starters in the team's 3-5 scheme. They're joined by seniors Spencer Swarts (team-high 68 total tackles) and Matthew Scanlon, who also rotated in at the position as juniors.

Weaver, who leads the team with nine sacks, says he's been playing with some of his defensive teammates since fourth grade, and that familiarity is key.

"There is a lot of trust and good chemistry," Weaver said. "We make audibles with each other and know what each other will be doing since we've played together for so long."

North has been especially tough against the run, holding opponents to 2.9 yards per rushing attempt.

Part of that can be attributed to the unit's aggressive nature, which Gould has lauded since Day 1 this season. But there's more to the defense's success than pure physical ability.

"We watch a lot of film on the other team, so during practice during the week we try to key on what the other team's game plan is and we kind of try to outsmart them," Dvorak said. "We kind of know what they're going to run and when. It's a lot of preparation, but we have the athletes to do the right job."

One of those athletes is senior tackle Josh Peters, who anchors North's defensive line. At 6-foot and 260 pounds, Peters helps open the holes that allow the linebackers to make plays.

"We haven't found a center that's been able to block (Peters) yet, so it's been making the linebacker's jobs a lot easier," Weaver said.

Senior defensive back Connor Mohs (team-best 3 interceptions) is another key contributor to the unit, which allowed more than 14 points only once this year.

With that level of success in mind, North hopes maintaining its recent effort will be enough to prolong the season for a few more weeks.

"There's really not much more that we can change up," Dvorak said. "We just have to keep up our usual game plan and try to capitalize on every single opportunity we can."