UP IN THE AIR - Matt Schalow (21) takes the ball out of the air for an eight yard gain in Friday's 35-10 regional finals loss to Nouvel. The play was St. Charles only gain in the air, with three interceptions in the contest (TCC Photo By Hillary Darling).

"You can't expect to win a game when you don't move the ball any better than we did tonight," assessed first-year 'Dawg head coach Brady Lake after the game. "Actually, I thought our defense was pretty solid except that they made some big plays in key situations which kept some drives alive for them."

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs made too many mistakes when they had the ball, suffering from two bad snaps, three interceptions and a lost fumble that occurred after a first down had apparently been gained near midfield on a fourth-and-two play.

Despite their woes, the 'Dawgs stayed close to the host Panthers, thanks in large part to two long kick-off returns by Marshall Davenport.

After a scoreless first quarter, Nouvel scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. But Davenport brought St. Charles back to within reach when he took the ensuing kick-off after the second Panther TD and weaved his way through the Nouvel defenders for a nifty 88-yard run to pay dirt. Travis Crane kicked the extra point and the visitors were suddenly back to within 14-7 with 5:26 still to go before intermission.

"Marshall is an outstanding athlete and he is always a threat when he has the ball in his hands," said Lake in reference to his senior running back.

After Davenport's run, however, Nouvel responded on its next possession by covering 61 yards in just six plays to put six points on the board. A pass interference call against St. Charles on a second-and-fifteen play kept the Panther drive alive and running back Kevin Robinson scored two plays later to give Nouvel a 21-7 cushion at halftime.

St. Charles came out fired up to begin the third quarter and Davenport again provided a spark by taking the opening kick-off of the third quarter 75 yards down the field, all the way down to the Panther 13-yard line.

But the Bulldogs gained just five yards on the next three plays from scrimmage before turning to Crane for a 25-yard field goal that narrowed the deficit to 21-10.

Neither team was able to move the ball on its next possession, but the momentum seemed to shift a little more in St. Charles' favor when the Bulldogs' punt pinned Nouvel back on its own 5-yard line with 7:46 still unplayed in the third quarter. The Panthers were faced with a third-and-five situation on their own 10-yard line and the 'Dawgs appeared poised to get the ball back in great shape if they could hold for just one more play on defense.

But the next two plays turned the game around as the Panthers struck for a 33-yard pass play to get the ball out of the shadows of their own goal posts and then followed with a 39-yard run by Robinson on the next play that took the ball all the way down to the Bulldogs' 18-yard line. Four plays later, Panther QB Ryan Henris scampered in from eight yards out. The PAT put the final touches on the 8-play, 95-yard backbreaking drive.

Down 28-10, any hopes of a comeback were dashed as St. Charles threw three interceptions to close out the game. Nouvel tacked on an extra touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the outcome had already been settled by that time.

Nouvel put together a balanced attack, gaining 213 yards on the ground and 196 through the air.

St. Charles could muster just 105 yards from the line of scrimmage, all but eight of those yards coming on the ground. Dugan Roosa gained 36 yards while Davenport and Crane picked up 24 and 22 yards rushing, respectively.

Justin Hedrich, Brandon Menzel and Davenport each had nine tackles to anchor the Bulldog defense.

"I know that the final score isn't very pretty, but I believe that we have reached a point now where we are no longer intimidated by Nouvel," said Lake. "Nouvel has a very strong program, obviously, but we stood up to them and didn't back down. I honestly believe we have turned a corner in that respect."

The season comes to an end for St. Charles, but the Bulldogs can look back with pride at a 9-3 final record and a district championship.

"I think that the future holds lots of promise for St. Charles' football team and I anticipate a great season next year," concluded Coach Lake. "I am so proud of all of our kids this year and I am especially pleased by the tremendous leadership we received from this season's special group of seniors."