Larkin, North Stars brace for late-season push

Larkin's Jalen Williams takes on a group of Bartlett defenders.
(Michael Smart/Courier News)

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Larkin and St. Charles North showed off their survival instincts last week as both teams rallied from fourth-quarter deficits to pull off comeback wins.

Now the two squads hope to survive tough late-season stretches and reach the postseason.

The task is certainly a tall one for the Royals, who need to win two of their final three games to have a chance at reaching the playoffs. After tonight's game, Larkin takes on rival Elgin in Week 8 and a fast-improving Waubonsie Valley team in Week 9.

Meanwhile, the North Stars need only one victory in the final three weeks to reach the five-win plateau and become playoff eligible. But simply reaching the postseason for a seventh straight year isn't the main objective for North, which is still in the hunt for the Upstate Eight Conference title as it prepares for a stretch run that includes showdowns with rival St. Charles East in Week 8 and Neuqua Valley in Week 9.

"Getting the fifth win is a big thing, but we don't want that to be the end all," North coach Mark Gould said. "We have higher goals than just getting the fifth win. To be honest, we haven't even talked about it because we know we have three tough games coming up and we want to finish the season strong and be able to meet that challenge."

The North Stars come into tonight's game having won four of their six meetings against Larkin, but Gould is well aware his team can't take the Royals lightly.

He is particularly concerned about Larkin's ground attack, which racked up an average of six yards per carry in last week's win against Streamwood.

Senior Justin Kalusa took over quarterback duties three weeks ago and is a threat to both run and pass given his breakaway speed. Senior running back Jeff Saurbaugh and junior Jalen Williams can also make opponents miss while senior Brandon Cooks offers more of a smash-mouth option out of the backfield.

"Offensively, (Kalusa) is one of the fastest guys around, if not the fastest in the whole area," Gould said. "But they've got (three) other really nice running backs they really do some good things with, so we've got to be prepared defensively."

North comes into the game battling some injury problems as senior standout receiver Jonathan DeMoss is out for the season with a torn ligament in his left elbow he sustained two weeks ago in a loss at Bartlett. Senior defensive back Mike Lefelstein, who earned All-UEC honors last year, is also nursing a sore left ankle and could be limited this week.

With DeMoss sidelined, senior Nick Neari -- who started the year at quarterback before giving way to senior Sean McGushin -- will continue to see a more substantial role at receiver. Junior Conner Mohs picked up the slack in the defensive backfield when Lefelstein left the game last week.

Larkin's biggest concern will be junior running back Jordan Huxtable, who is quickly climbing the list of the area's rushing leaders. His 239-yard, three-touchdown performance last week gives him 698 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 99 carries for the year.

"(North) has a lot of talent, a lot of size and they've got a lot of big, strong kids," Larkin coach Matt Gehrig said. "When I watch them on film, I see a lot of balance and a group that executes very well within their system. They take whatever the defense gives and try to move the ball down the field."

The North Stars showed considerable poise scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter to rally from a 17-7 deficit in last week's win against South Elgin.

The same can be said of the Royals, who trailed Streamwood 21-6 going into the fourth quarter before tallying 16 unanswered points in the final 12 minutes to pull off its second fourth-quarter comeback win of the season.

"The coaching staff is always trying to do our best to try to improvise and overcome whatever scenario that we're in at the time," Gehrig said. "We just keep trying to do our best to put the players in the best position to succeed."