‘They’ve been waiting on this forever’ St. Charles North, Kaneland overjoyed to get spring practice started

ST. CHARLES – St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak went over to a group of players stretching before the first official practice of the season began Wednesday.

“Get better today,” he said quietly.

Soon, sporadic claps of joy emanated from the large pack of players as they conducted lines of lunges on the far sideline.

More players chimed in with each passing lunge with ‘let’s go’ as the reality began to sink in. This wasn’t just a contact day anymore. An actual football season – games, physicality and so much more was around the corner.

Players broke for pushups in lines that stretched sideline-to-sideline. On each downward motion, senior leaders of their so-called platoons in each line spelled out S-T-A-R-S two or three times.

It wasn’t long before they all met at midfield for a team scrum with a roar of enthusiasm probably not felt since the last time they took the field for a game in 2019. Even underneath masks, one could bet there was a smile on each face.

Football, indeed, was back.

What was the energy like? St. Charles North senior quarterback and likely starter Michael Priami made it easy for anyone to grasp.

“Oh, High”, Priami said. “Very high. Everybody was jumping. Everyone was screaming because we were so happy just to be out there doing what we love to do.”

“The energy was there,” North Stars junior lineman Paolo Gennarelli said. “Everyone wants to play, you can tell. We’re all aiming for 6-0. We all have the same goal right now. We’re all just driving for the same thing.”

“Our seniors really want this real bad. They’ve been waiting on this forever,” Gennarelli continued. “Everyone wants it.”

Senior place kicker Jack Dummer was soon crushing field goal attempts from 30 and 40 yards out.

“As a senior, it’s great to be out here at all,” Dummer said. “We’ve gone through a lot to get here so being with the guys and having all the connections that I’ve made throughout the years, it’s just an awesome feeling.”

Dummer has done plenty of offseason work to get his leg ready by lifting and working with a kicking coach. Getting his timing right with snapper Corey Kruger and holder Sam DeDobbelaere already appears well on track.

Gennarelli admitted it was difficult to fall asleep the night before. Pomazak tweeted it felt like Christmas Eve.

Before long, it’ll be week one at Geneva. Defending DuKane Conference champion Batavia awaits the following week. Then, the crosstown showdown against St. Charles East before the conference shuffles into a ‘playoff-like’ format based on where records are at.

“This year, me and all the seniors, we’re really trying to set the bar for next year,” Gennarelli said. “I’m really trying to set the bar for the juniors and everyone who is going to be around me. I want everyone pulling their own side of the string.”

Earlier Wednesday, the Kaneland football program seemed equally as overjoyed to be competing again. Heavy bass boomed out of a speaker while lineman engaged in line of scrimmage drills using blocking pads. Receivers were running route trees while linebackers nearby conducted ball carrier pursuit drills on the far side of the field.

“It’s fun to be out here again, especially with your teammates,” senior Jack McIntire said. “It’s the first time we get to all be around each other again [besides contact days].”

March 20 – the Knights’ first game against Sycamore – can’t come fast enough.

“We’ve had that date circled for a long time,” senior lineman Sam Pryor said.