Declan Smith and the St. Charles North defense knew it had to go all out on the final play.

With the North Stars only up three with 44 seconds remaining over Carmel, they had a chance to slam the door with a stop on a fourth-and-10 at their 33-yard line.

But even with the lofty yardage needed, Smith didn’t want to take any chances. Especially with Nebraska commit Trae Taylor under center.

“As a defensive lineman, we knew we had to put the pressure on, but I told all of the backfield not to fall asleep because he can easily throw it 65 yards,” Smith said. “We just wanted to put the pressure on and not get on our toes and make the play come.”

Luckily, the defense did more than enough.

The North Stars got the stop on defense, securing a 26-23 victory over the Corsairs in the rain to adva

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