No Offense for Saints

For more than three quarters Friday night, St. Charles East's football team showed that it can hang against one of the state's powerhouses.

While the Saints' eventual 17-0 loss to DuPage Valley Conference kingpin Naperville North (2-0) put a damper on their 2010 home opener, it certainly was a far cry from the 56-7 setback suffered at the hands of Carmel in their season opener on Aug. 27 in Mundelein.

"I told the boys that we needed to step up our intensity from last week and I thought they did last week in practice," said second-year Saints coach Mike Fields. "They got after it a little bit and that's a sign they're fighters."

However, with a starting defensive unit that includes just one returning player with much experience – senior linebacker Mike Caddy – along with juniors Jake Sheley, John Kelley, Tim Leibforth, Carter Reading, and sophomores Jacob Bruce, Mike Eyre and Joe Hoscheit, the Saints are also still in the midst of a learning process.

"Sometimes there's a little hangover from last year being conference champs," Fields said. "These guys are all new and it's a different season.

"I'm pleased with our effort but I'd love to be on the other side of that and get our first win. We'll keep fighting."

The Saints showed plenty of fight during a scoreless first half. After forcing the Huskies to a three-and-out opening series, St. Charles East received a huge play from its special teams as Leibforth blocked a 38-yard field goal attempt by the Huskies' Ryan Corp and returned it to the Naperville 39-yard line late in the opening quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Saints thwarted another Naperville drive as Kelley stripped the ball from tailback Dan Puknitas and Hoscheit recovered the fumble at the Saints' 18.

Offensively, the Saints' best scoring opportunity came midway through the fourth quarter when a 16-yard run by fullback Jerry Fialka and three carries from tailback Mike Brown (35 carries, 136 yards) advanced the ball inside the Huskies' 10.

However, the Saints fumbled away the ball on a second-and-goal play at the 6 and never seriously threatened the rest of the way on the way to their second defeat in as many games.

"Even with the loss, we were with them all the way," said senior receiver/defensive back Zach Zajicek. "We'll be ready to go hard in practice and prepare for our game next week."

St. Charles East will open its Upstate Eight Conference River Division campaign Sept. 10 at Geneva.