Crystal Lake South QB Michael Silvius earns his starting spot

The metaphorical candy store stands less than 50 yards from where Crystal Lake South football players scrimmage against each other and fall to the grass to do up-downs under a 90-degree sun on a humid July morning.

There are no fans, no cheerleaders on the spacious field. There is no noise, other than coaches occasionally barking, birds chirping and the team’s drone faintly buzzing overhead.

This is where a player’s varsity spot is earned and, with it, the opportunity to take the field in South’s adjacent stadium.

This is where the fun begins.

“I remember last year against PR. It was our home opener,” junior quarterback Michael Silvius said of the Gators’ Week 2 game against Prairie Ridge. “That was my [first varsity start]. Just walking out of the tunnel, it felt like [the noise] was all around me. The stands were echoing. I had never experienced that, because my freshman year, I was on the frosh team. You get parents, maybe some friends [in attendance]. But this time it was packed.”

This is the candy. An open door awaits those players who have earned a green-gold-and-white varsity jersey and a place inside.

Never mind that not all has been sweet, so to speak, for the Gators, who count five wins in the past two seasons.

Sticky summers soon will yield to Friday night lights.

“That environment, that’s fun,” Silvius said. “That’s football. That’s what I look forward to during these hot, humid [practices] out here. You got to work hard to earn your spot.”

Silvius has earned his spot.

A year after starting three games (Prairie Ridge, Burlington Central, Huntley) at quarterback and sharing the position with the since-graduated AJ Demirov and Aidan Neyt, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Silvius is ready to take over QB responsibilities full time.

“It’s his show now,” said coach Rob Fontana, whose Gators open the season at home against Burlington Central on Aug. 29.

“Last year I was bouncing around based on scenario, time, play, all that,” Silvius said. “But this year it’s just me right now.”

Like Demirov and Neyt, Silvius played wide receiver when not calling signals last year. The Gators went 2-7 and scored only 85 points, the fewest in the Fox Valley Conference.

“Last year, it was a good team, and we just fell short,” Silvius said. “I think it was a good group of guys. We just needed to have a little more go.”

As Silvius and the offense go, so might the Gators.

Fontana doesn’t question whether his QB has the athleticism, arm strength or throwing accuracy to help the Gators deliver more positive results in 2025. Silvius pitched for South’s baseball team in the spring as a sophomore, and the righty was a key part of the rotation in helping the Gators win 25 games and a Class 3A regional championship.

“He brings a lot to us,” Fontana said. “He brings a mobile quarterback with a strong arm who can throw on the run, who can sit in the pocket, who has good vision.”

Fontana enters his ninth season as head coach and knows his team will have its hands full again in the FVC, especially since the Gators will field several sophomores on offense. That Class of 2028 group includes slot receiver/running back Hector Del Bosque, slot receiver/running back Yeidan Ramirez, guard Charlie Plunkett and tackle Robbie Fontana (the middle child of Coach Fontana’s three kids).

Like last year, the Gators will run a spread offense.

“We have to be able to control the clock, we have to control the football, we need to create turnovers, and we need to play 48 minutes of football every week because the conference is hard, and we’re undersized as a school,” Rob Fontana said. “We always have to go against teams that are bigger in size and rosters and everything else, so we just battle with what we have. We know week in and week out every game is basically a playoff game for us.”

Every spot is important for a team constantly seeking to find more players to bolster its roster. Silvius has even tried to recruit some of his buddies to come out for football.

It’s fun, after all, even on days when the weather is insufferable.

“Last year, coming up short at 2-7 [record], people talk about it all the time,” Silvius said. “It adds a little bite to being out here.”

For a motivated Silvius, at least, the reward of Friday night lights is worth the sweat and work.