St. Charles East showing progress as fall practice kicks off

ST. CHARLES – Turning the page on a 2022 season that began with promise and ended with a seven-game losing streak is a process that began for St. Charles East months ago.

When the first official day of football practice opened Aug. 7, the progress moving forward toward improvement really started to be shown.

At the forefront in shaping the immediate future are the team captains – senior left tackle Bodey McCaslin, senior quarterback Mac Paul, senior linebacker Charlie McArdle, senior safety Gavin Connolly and senior wideout Charlie Bolsoni.

“It all started in winter. We had a great offseason lift,” McCaslin said. “I just think we’re ahead of where we were last summer at this point. I think we just worked a little harder and we came together more as a team more than we did last year. I think we’re just a little farther ahead than what we started out as last year.”

A varsity 24-hour lock-in consisting of film work, two practices, meetings, team bonding and other activities at St. Charles East earlier this summer is one example of moving the team needle forward.

“As captains, and as a full team, we get together and we meet. We write everything on a board that we want,” McCaslin said. “Our main goal, little goals throughout the day [and] how we really want to organize our year.”

Those benchmarks and goals got down to the nitty gritty of how pre-practice is conducted and focusing on the “little stuff.”

The list starts with players showing up to practice early, having their helmets on and running onto the field together.

“I feel like last year we were all [saying and focusing on] ‘We want to win state, we want to do really good in the playoffs, we want to win [the DuKane] Conference,’ ” McCaslin said. “We just had two really big goals and we brought it down to [manageable, controllable] goals.”

McCaslin is going to be bookended by right tackle and senior Gideon Kopalchick. The rest of the interior line still is being worked out.

Paul, who started four games at quarterback last season, is the full-time starter and ready to take control of the wheel.

“100% ready,” Paul said. “That’s the kind of stuff we prepared for since I was a freshman getting ready for this season, so definitely ready.”

“I’m really liking the connection between him, the O-line and the running backs. It’s all really good,” McCaslin said. “He’s having a great summer ... communication, he’s really good at communicating to the O-line. When he’s in the huddle, we know what he’s saying. He’s smart. He understands the checks and all that.”

Improving his efficiency as a passer and recognizing coverages was top of the list in growth opportunities for Paul heading into offseason work. Gaining rapport with wide receivers, especially with the graduations of Blake Schuette and Mason Tousignant, is another goal. Sophomores Gavin Matejko and Sheko Gjokaj are expected to supplement Bolsoni as top options at wide receiver.

“I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily replacing [Schuette and Tousignant]. I think we’ve got guys that are at that level,” McCaslin said. “Blake and Mason were awesome receivers, but I’m not concerned. We’ve got Charlie that’s been with us. He was a great receiver last year and we’ve got guys who are stepping up for sure, so it’s really no concern.”