By Bobby Narang –
In his sixth year at the helm, St. Charles North High School head football coach Rob Pomazak almost brought home a State championship this season.
After leaving an assistant coaching job at Elk Grove, Pomazak slowly started improving the culture at St. Charles North.
Before his arrival, the North Stars never had won more than two games in the playoffs in 12 season of varsity football. Every year, the North Stars made small improvements under Pomazak, including back-to-back 9-2 records in 2016 and 2017.
The North Stars, though, came just short of victory No. 11 this season. Despite losing their last two regular season games, St. Charles North won four straight games to reach the Class 7A State championship game against powerhouse Nazareth Academy of La Grange Park. Nazareth defeated 2017 Class 7A State champion Batavia, 47-28, in the semifinals.
Nazareth scored in every quarter to defeat St. Charles North, 31-10, Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
The North Stars, 10-4, were limited to a third-quarter touchdown reception by Alec Kritta from quarterback Kyler Brown.
“Their big-play potential is shocking,” Pomazak said of Nazareth. “They have two dudes on their team, and we wanted to keep them in check as much as we could.”
Nazareth running back Michael Love and quarterback JJ McCarthy were those “two dudes” and they were unstoppable. Love carried the ball seven times for 87 yards and a touchdown. He caught four passes for 58 yards, returned two punts for 62 yards, and returned a kickoff for 21 yards.
McCarthy, a star sophomore in his first year on the varsity, completed 15 of 24 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown. Nazareth head coach Tim Racki claimed his seventh overall State championship. He won four at defunct Driscoll in Addison and captured three with the Roadrunners, who finished in second place last season.
“This has been very emotional for me personally,” he said. “I’ve never coached this number of seniors on the varsity level for so many years. To see them go out on top after last year, this has been on our minds since the Sunday of State week.”
The North Stars had trouble moving the ball against the Roadrunners, 13-1. Brown threw for 55 yards and a touchdown, while star tailback Tyler Nubin, a University of Minnesota recruit, was limited to 70 yards on 15 carries.
“I’m very proud of our boys and the moment that they gave to our community,” Pomazak said. “I’m very appreciate of this moment. Obviously, it hurts that we didn’t come out with a victory, but I know we’ll be back.”