Preview: St. Charles North at Bartlett

When: Saturday at noon at Millennium Field

Last year: Bartlett 36, St. Charles North 6

Last week: Bartlett 30, Lake Park 7; St. Charles North 42, T.F. North 0

Outlook: Of the five games remaining on Bartlett's regular-season schedule, Saturday's showdown at high noon might be the most important. The North Stars have blown out three straight opponents after a season-opening loss by 3 points to Cary-Grove, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6A. St. Charles North quarterback Nick Neari might see limited action again as he did last week while nursing a sore shoulder, but Sean McGushin will get the start under center. In 2 games McGushin has completed 10-of-14 passes for 200 yards. Jordan Huxtable has rushed for 399 yards this season, 322 of those yards and 6 touchdowns came in the last two weeks against weaker defenses from Streamwood and T.F. North in blowout wins. The Hawks must also beware of senior receiver Jon DeMoss, arguably the best athlete at St. Charles North High School. He caught 4 balls last week, 2 for touchdowns, and totaled 90 yards receiving. "DeMoss is a great receiver, Huxtable is good and (running back Kyle) Harmon is a two-year starter and a good one," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "They have a lot of skill kids back to go along with a good center and Jake Juriga is a real good linebacker. They have a lot of good players. We just have to hold onto the ball, make good decisions with it and, hopefully, get some takeaways." That's a safe bet: Bartlett leads the area with a plus-6 turnover margin. The balanced Bartlett offense has rushed for 560 yards and thrown for 700. The Hawks, ranked No. 5 in Class 8A this week and No. 4 in the Daily Herald Top 20, partly because their defense has held opponents to an average of 55.6 yards rushing per game. These two teams have only played once since the North Stars joined the league in 2001. Due to the rotating Upstate Eight Conference schedule, they won't face each other again until 2011.