Business is really picking up for St. Charles North’s Drew Surges.
The junior running back/linebacker was busy Friday night, leading the North Stars to a 37-0 DuKane Conference victory over crosstown rival St. Charles East.
Surges rushed for 109 yards and scored four touchdowns on only seven carries. He added three tackles and an interception on defense.
Then on Saturday, Surges found himself on the sideline at Louisville, watching the Cardinals drop a heartbreaker in a 34-33 loss to Virginia.
“That was the goal this season, to get my name out there,” Surges said. “This past week has been pretty cool. I’ve been talking to a couple coaches (at Louisville) for a little bit and they invited me to game day.
“It was a pretty cool stadium. I do like all of that, but I’m still focused on the football team and getting to the playoffs.”
Surges has battled through an ankle injury this season, and the North Stars’ three-game losing streak coincided with the worst of it.
When healthy, however, Surges has emerged as one of the most dominant players in the area on both sides of the ball for St. Charles North (4-3, 2-3).
He has rushed for 522 yards and 10 TDs on 74 carries. That includes four 100-yard games, the North Stars going 3-1. Defensively, the hybrid linebacker/safety has 31 tackles, including nine for loss, with two sacks and two interceptions.
The unique skill set Surges brings to the North Stars has coach Rob Pomazak struggling to find a comparable player during in his tenure.
“He’s kind of his own thing because he’s a big kid,” Pomazak said. “He’s deceptively fast. He has really good vision. He’s this nice combination of speed and power. Drew is cutting his own mold right now.”
Pomazak acknowledged the attention Surges has started to receive has been a pleasant surprise. Cincinnati also had Surges come to a game day, and he has been in contact with Dartmouth.
“As far as the attention goes, I definitely think he’s a Power Five-type kid,” Pomazak said. “He’s a great kid, has a great attitude. He’s a two-sport athlete. He was a conference champion as a freshman in wrestling. He has that wrestling mentality.”
As far as his future position on the football field, Surges is open to all of the possibilities. In addition to his duties at running back and on defense, he can also kick and punt.
“I’ll go to college for whatever, I’m not really sure, but I prefer defense,” Surges said. “My team gives me touchdowns, too. They get the ball to the goal line and feed it to me. It’s awesome.”
Surges is just happy to be healthy at this point.
The North Stars started 2-1 before Surges hurt his ankle in practice leading into the Wheaton North game, which St. Charles North lost 35-3. An overtime loss to Geneva followed.
The playoffs essentially started two weeks ago for the North Stars, who responded with wins over Lake Park and St. Charles East. A pivotal game at Glenbard North looms Friday, with top-ranked Batavia waiting in Week 9.
“I love the competition,” Surges said. “After last week, our defense looked really good. We were everywhere on the field. Offense has been looking pretty good these last few weeks. This is our challenge week.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.