For all those rushing yards St. Charles East quarterback Zach Mitchell compiled (255 unofficially), it came down to one.
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Three different times.
Twice Clayton Isbell recovered a fumble a mere yard from a New Trier touchdown, and the third time the Trevians came up a foot or so short.
Mitchell and the triple option have been the story of the greatest season in St. Charles East’s relatively brief history, but the No. 9 Saints have their opportunistic defense to thank for their 17-10 victory in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs Friday night in Northfield.
Coming off consecutive 4-5 seasons, the Saints will bring an 11-0 mark into their quarterfinal matchup with Saturday night’s Palatine-Lyons winner. It will be the Saints’ first quarterfinal appearance since 2005.
“Our defense played out of their minds tonight,” St. Charles East coach William Farquhar said. “They are the reason we are here right now. This is the first team to put us in a situation where our defense was tested on the field over and over.
“We are used to controlling the time of possession, but they grinded us out and kept our defense on the field, and I’ve got to give our defense all the credit in the world for the way they responded.”
New Trier lost fumbles on the St. Charles East 1 on its final possession of the first half and first possession of the second half, and the Saints scored 10 points in between.
Mitchell had runs of 21, 30 and 12 yards as the Saints drove 87 yards in just over a minute to kick a field goal at the end of the half and tie the score 10-10.
The game’s final score came at the 8-minute, 19-second mark of the third quarter, when Josh Luedtke won a game of tug of war with a defender in the end zone for a 25-yard TD catch from Mitchell.
New Trier (8-3) didn’t get close again until its final possession. Clay Czyzynski scrambled for what felt like minutes before coming up just short on a fourth-and-3 pass from the St. Charles East 20.
“It was just a dogfight back and forth,” Mitchell said. “What we have is a team. We pick each other up. We had some sloppy turnovers this game, but our defense really stuck it out.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Player of the game: Zach Mitchell, St. Charles East, 22 carries, 255 yards; 52 passing yards, TD.
Key performers: St. Charles East — Clayton Isbell, 2 fumble recoveries; Nick Garlisch, 9 carries, 76 yards. New Trier — Brian Kaiser, 3 receptions, 50 yards; 36-yard TD pass.