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PLAINFIELD – It’s hard to blame the Plainfield North football program for being a little angry this season. The Tigers have some unfinished business after a bitter end to the 2015 campaign.
After finally beating Oswego last year for the first time in school history in Week 8, Plainfield North was 6-2, in position to win the Southwest Prairie Conference and host a playoff game. Those didn’t happen.
A loss at Minooka and another Class 7A first-round road playoff loss at Maine South ended the Tigers’ promising season.
“We had a great opportunity there to finish the season strong, win a conference championship and host a playoff game,” said Plainfield North coach Tim Kane, who is entering his 10th full season. “You look at that and understand you let it slip away.
"There’s nothing you can do from that but learn – whether that’s a chip on their shoulder, being a little hungry this year, better disciplined in practice, taking every rep more serious, taking every play in a game a little more serious and getting past that so you can learn from your mistakes.”
The Tigers have reached the playoffs four of the past five seasons but have yet to experience their first playoff victory.
“We beat Oswego Week 8, then lost to Minooka Week 9 and lost in the first round of the playoffs,” Kane said. “I would think the seniors would have a chip on their shoulder and want to prove something. The end of the year last year didn’t go the way we wanted.”
That brings us to the 2016 season, which begins Friday at home against Plainfield Central.
“I think this is a pretty important season,” Kane said. “I feel we have a solid program and continue to grow. Now, we need to take that next step. We’ve been in the playoffs. Now, we need to get that playoff win and go deep into playoffs.”
If that is to happen, it could be a result of the Plainfield North defense, which returns nine starters from a team that allowed 16.3 points a game a season ago.
“We've got a lot of guys coming back on defense,” senior defensive tackle Ari Ekowa said. “We just have to continue to keep working and getting better. We have guys who are determined to win, and we’re meshing as a team. We’re bonding as a team, and we’re expecting big things.”
Leading the charge on defense is senior Kevin Block, a standout in the secondary.
“I would hope our defense is going to be good,” Kane said. “You can’t say we’re going to be good on defense because we have a lot of kids coming back. I want to say we have kids coming back with the right attitude, who are hungry, who want to get better with a chip on their shoulder because of what happened last year.”
“We have nine starters back on defense,” said Block, who also could play some at quarterback. “Our front four have to get pressure on their quarterback and our DBs have to cover. I think we’re set all around with our defense.”
Block has been battling junior Brady Miller for the start at quarterback. Running back Tyler Hoosman returns, as do receivers T.J. Kane and Ryan Krzystofiak.
Tackle Tony Little and guard Nathan Lindroth are veterans who will anchor the offensive line.
"We have some kids coming back on offense who had some success last year,” Kane said. “Now, it’s up to [the coaching staff] to put them in the best position to accentuate their strengths and adjust our offense around those things.”
“We talk about the next guy up. That’s what we’re thinking all the time,” Ekowa said. “We have guys coming back who were good players last year. That’s going to help.”
New for the SPC this year is the addition of Joliet Central and Joliet West. That puts the league at 10 teams, making for nine conference games on the schedule, eliminating nonconference games to open the season.
“All nine games are conference games, so Week 1 is just as important as Week 9,” Kane said. “You better be ready to play Week 1.”
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TIGERS
Coach: Tim Kane
2015 record: 6-4, 5-2 in Southwest Prairie
Classification enrollment: 2,269 (Class 8A/7A)
Offensive coordinator: Samir Chaudhari
Defensive coordinator: Tim Kane
Returning offensive starters: RB Tyler Hoosman, WR T.J. Kane, WR Ryan Krzystofiak, OT Tony Little, OG Nathan Lindroth
Returning defensive starters: DB/QB Kevin Block, DT Ari Ekowa, DT Noah Lewis, DT Dan Carlson, CB Joe Stiffend, CB Dillon McCarthy, LB J.J. Frey, LB Will Stoll, LB Zack Nadle
Schedule: August: 26 – vs. Plainfield Central, 7 p.m.; September: 2 – at Oswego, 7 p.m.; 9 - vs. Romeoville, 7 p.m.; 16 - at Minooka, 7 p.m.; 23 - vs. Oswego East, 7 p.m.; 30 - at Joliet Central, 7 p.m.; October: 7 – vs. Plainfield South, 7 p.m.; 14 – at Plainfield East, 7 p.m.; 21 – vs. Joliet West, 7 p.m.