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 advance to the Class 7A quarterfinals for the second time in four years.

St. Charles North (10-1) will travel to Brother Rice, who won its second-round matchup against Jacobs 46-0, in next week’s quarterfinals.

“I’ve got to give my offensive and defensive coordinators so much credit,” North Stars coach Rob Pomazak said. “All week, we had a great game plan and great week of practive. We knew the elements were going to be here, and we didn’t back away from it. We went right into it and used it in our favor.”

After going down 16-7 with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, the North Stars started to turn the tide of the game with their defense. Both of the Corsairs’ final offensive drives in the half ended with turnovers, the first ending on an interception from senior Jack Rubly, and the other a fumble recovered by senior Matthew Plumb.

“We talked to the guys about how it was going to be a possession game,” Pomazak said. “Whoever can control possession is going to win it, and we knew turnovers were going to be a big part of it. And we were fortunate to be in the right spot at the right time.”

That momentum carried over into the second half, with Smith starting off the defense by hopping on a fumble for North’s third straight turnover.

“It was just a really big clarity thing for us in the end,” Smith said. “We know they’re from the Catholic League, but we knew we were as good as them and can hang with the best. And turnovers like that is just a major part of the game.”

After a pair of Lucas Tenbrock field goals from 44 and 40 yards out cut the deficit to three, St. Charles North got its first lead of the night early in the fourth quarter, when quarterback JT Padron found running back Carsen Durante for a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-16.

It was only the third pass the North Stars completed on the night, with senior Braden Harms catching a 32-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and Durante adding another 10-yard catch.

The North Stars extended their lead just five minutes later, when senior running back Tommy Vendl (72 rushing yards) hit the gap for a 28-yard rushing touchdown to give them a 26-16 lead.

“I saw the defender coming at me and I knew I had to beat him to the pylon,” Vendl said. “I’ve just got to shout out my offensive line, they paved the way. That was the biggest hole I’ve ever seen. And when I saw the opening, it was just pure adrenaline running to the corner.”

The Corsairs still had an impressive showing on offense, recording nearly 450 yards all around. Sophomores Jaquel Edmonds and Jorden Moore each eclipsed the century mark on the ground, with Edmonds kicking off the scoring with a 59-yard rushing score.

Taylor also added to the rushing attack, going for 78 yards and a score. He also threw a 65-yard touchdown to senior Kai Owens in the fourth quarter, accounting for their only score in the second half.

“It’s football weather, you’ve got to perform in the elements,” Corsairs coach Jason McKie said. “You can’t keep stubbing your toe and not expect that to hurt. That’s going to catch up to you and that’s what it did.”

Carmel finished the season 8-3 with the loss, a heavy improvement from its 3-6 record from a season ago.

“We have a great group of seniors, great men more so than football players,” McKie said. “They have elite character, they’re going to do well in life. I’m so thankful for each and every one of those guys. This loss hurts, but they learned a lot of things that have helped them to be successful in life, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”