Big receivers delivering for North Stars

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As if one talented 6-foot-4 wide receiver wasn't enough, St. Charles North added another late in the season.

When junior Josh Mikes was cleared by a doctor to play in Week 7 after battling a nagging back injury, it was a case of the rich getting richer as he joined senior Jeff Stolzenburg to give the North Stars two of the biggest and most athletic targets in the area.

The arrival of Mikes didn't yield immediate results as he didn't catch a pass in his first two games. But last week Mikes played a leading role in North's Class 7A playoff win against South Elgin, catching three passes for 77 yards and a touchdown.

Couple that production with the consistency of Stolzenburg, who is third in the area with 28 catches for 505 yards and six touchdowns, and there is plenty for defenses to worry about.

Elk Grove gets to try to contain the duo tonight when the North Stars host the Grenadiers in the second round of the state playoffs.

"If it's not going left, it's going right," Stolzenburg said. "Josh and I are pretty similar. We've both got speed, we've both got height and we can both jump."

Expectations were high for Stolzenburg coming into the year after he led the team with 28 catches for 359 yards as a junior. When the North Stars learned Mikes could miss the entire season with a bulging disc in his lower back, Stolzenburg's role became even more important.

The heavier load hasn't daunted Stolzenburg, who was thrust into the No. 1 receiver role last year by an injury to an older teammate. This year he is averaging 18 yards per catch while providing junior quarterback Jake Bergren a reliable target.

"(Stolzenburg) is just involved in so much that he's always a target and a priority in my mind when I'm looking down the field," Bergren said.

Added North coach Mark Gould: "(Stolzenburg) worked really hard in the offseason to improve himself physically and improve his game. I'm really pleased with how he has stepped it up, especially since we really didn't think we were going to have Josh."

Things indeed looked bleak for Mikes, who late in the summer felt discomfort whether sitting or standing and at times experienced a sharp pain shooting down his leg.

One doctor said he'd need to sit out three months and thus miss the whole football season. But when the pain started to subside, Mikes got a second opinion and some better news.

"The second doctor looked at the MRI results and decided it was really up to me whether I wanted to play or not," Mikes said. "He said it could have been something that's been there all my life and is just now starting to act up. It just depended on how much pain tolerance I could handle."

Mikes, who is also a standout member of North's basketball team, said the slight pain he now feels from time to time is nothing a few Advil can't fix. After easing his way back into action in his first few games, Mikes showed off his athletic skills last week with a 49-yard touchdown catch and an impressive leaping grab along the sideline that went for 21 yards.

Making Stolzenburg and Mikes all the more dangerous is the development of Bergren, who in his first varsity season leads a North Stars offense that averages 29.4 points. Bergren is the team's top rusher and has thrown for 928 yards despite splitting time with two other quarterbacks during the first three weeks of the season.

While Bergren appears to have come into his own at quarterback in recent weeks, he doesn't take for granted having a pair of reliable receivers.

"To have two guys that can line up on either side of the formation really helps spread the defense out," Bergren said. "If they double cover one, it leaves the other one open. They are both top-notch receivers and it's like a dream throwing to those guys." High School Football | class 7A playoffs