North Stars look to turn Geneva loss into a positive

ST. CHARLES – As the buzzer at Geneva’s Burgess Field sounded, St. Charles North senior Kyle Novotney fell to the ground with his hands on his helmet.

The North Stars suffered their first loss of the football season in heartbreaking fashion, 42-41.

Although many of the North Stars still were upset and disappointed walking into the locker room Monday for practice, there was a message written on the whiteboard that quickly got the attention of the entire team.

“The board said, ‘You can either pout or you can get better,’” defensive back Jake Spaniol said. “I think that really woke us up and made us realize that we have another really good football team that we have to play on Friday. We can either pout and roll up in a ball or we can put our boots on and get back after it. I think that’s our mindset right now.”

North hosts unbeaten Batavia for its homecoming game tonight. The Bulldogs have not lost an Upstate Eight Conference River Division game in coach Dennis Piron’s four-plus season tenure.

But if you told North coach Rob Pomazak that his team would put up 41 points and more than 400 yards of total offense on the road at Geneva and was walking away with a loss, he would have said the matchup with Batavia would feature two unbeaten teams.

But the reality is North is 3-1. The defense gave up one more point than the offense scored, and Pomazak knows that’s something that cannot happen, but wants this loss to provide motivation and not define the team’s season.

“I think there’s a story to tell on where we are going to be because of that game,” Pomazak said. “Our successes from here on out are going to be because of the blueprint that that game set. We’re as confident as ever and I really believe that. We know we can compete with some of the better teams in the state in Class 7A right now, and we can’t wait to get back on the field.”

The morale around North this week has gradually been about moving past the loss to Geneva and on bouncing back with Batavia looming. North has several leaders back from a team that tied a school record with eight wins last year and will rely on the experience of knowing that a loss doesn’t end your season until the playoffs.

Defensive tackle Quinn Calcagno is one of those North Stars, and has more confidence than ever in his team’s ability to overcome a loss and be ready for tonight.

“Given last year when we had tough losses, with coaches and resilient players, we bounced back,” Calcagno said. “We’re looking to do the same this year. Already this week, we have guys looking good, looking ready, so we’re ready to go. There’s no excuses around here. We have a job to do this week and that’s our focus.”

Just as Geneva quarterback Sean Chambers did Saturday, North’s signal-caller Zach Mettetal will face a situation he has not yet come across as a starting quarterback. For the first time, he will take the field after a loss.

Mettetal, who has thrown for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns through four games, knows there is a big opportunity to not only erase any of the doubts people around North have about this football team, but also make a statement that the North Stars are for real.

“This is a pretty big opportunity for us,” Mettetal said. “[Batavia] hasn’t lost [a] conference game in four or five years, so for them to come here on our homecoming, it’s going to be exciting. We’ve really moved on from that loss, become better because of it and now we’re battle-tested, so our confidence is higher than it’ll ever be heading into this one.”

The loss to Geneva was certainly an “eye-opening” experience, as Pomazak put it. But just because the North Stars lost a game doesn’t mean the season is lost. Each goal that North set for itself still is reachable.

“Everything is still intact on what we wanted to accomplish this year,” Spaniol said. “A conference championship is still within reach and of course the playoffs. But that conference championship is goal number one, and [tonight] is a chance to make a statement toward that goal.”

“Friday can’t come fast enough,” Pomazak said. “The guys are ready to go and we’re excited. Batavia is a good football team and I believe we are a good football team and this is exactly where we want to be.”

There will be one telling sign on just how the North Stars bounce back, and that’s the score when the clock hits all zeros.