Kane County notes: St. Charles North kicker Jack Dummer keeps his cools amid 'Parkey' chants

Chants rained down from the Palatine student section as St. Charles North kicker Jack Dummer attempted the go-ahead field goal Aug. 30.

"Parkey, Parkey."

Cody Parkey, the Chicago Bears former kicker, is of course infamously known for missing a 43-yard go-ahead field goal that was tipped, and later hit the upright, during last year's NFC wildcard loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The North Stars and Palatine were tied 14-14 with 10:21 remaining in the third quarter of their season opener. Dummer missed a field goal in the first quarter on the North Stars' second possession.

Dummer still had to keep his focus.

"When they first started chanting, [St. Charles North quarterback and placeholder] Kyler [Brown] said, 'Laugh about it, let's go'," Dummer said. "I think that took some of the pressure away for sure."

"I really just wanted to make it and silence the crowd," Dummer continued. "But, I just kicked it like any other kick. At that point I was comfortable and ready to go."

Dummer has some big shoes to fill this season, literally. He's replacing Luke Barresi, who hit a championship game record 53-yard field goal in St. Charles North's loss to Nazareth in last year's Class 7A state championship.

"I had limited work with Luke last year, but I definitely learned from him as a kicker," Dummer said. "Luke was extremely strong and was able to keep things consistent throughout the season. This taught me that continuously lifting throughout the season and always going back to the fundamentals are key aspects of success."

Dummer also has a relationship with the North kicker from 2017, Brandon Eickert, who now plays collegiately at the University of San Diego.

"I kicked with him a lot, and he showed me what a routine for a kicker at the varsity level was like," Dummer said.

Muetterties, Burlington Central 'D' dominate

Burlington Central won its Fox Valley Conference debut last week, winning at Dundee-Crown 15-9.

While that alone is an accomplishment, its defense did something perhaps more impressive.

Led by senior defensive lineman Matt Muetterties' 12 tackles, four of them for loss, the Rockets held D-C to 14 total rushing yards for the entire game.

"Our defense did so well because we all swarmed to the ball and did our jobs," Muetterties said. "We played with a lot of energy, we all feed off of each other's big plays."

Muetterties was even a bit dismissive of his own performance.

"For me it's about the team," he said. "I did what the team needed me to do that night. As long as we get the win, I'm happy. It was nice to start my first game having 12 tackles and get a win."

Fitzgerald, Marmion rushing attack impress

Marmion has just one offensive starter returning this year – center Brandon Bryan – but you'd hardly know it by the Cadets' 41-7 win over Maine East.

Quarterback Padraig Fitzgerald went for 10-for-22 with 128 passing yards and two touchdowns. Five different rushers recorded at least two or more carries and combined for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

"We are fortunate enough to have a good amount of speed in our backfield as well as decent depth in running back positions," Fitzgerald said. "We were able to establish the run game early, which was great because it opened up the passing game as well."

"We were able to gain steady yards throughout the game on run plays and pop out a long one every so often which was awesome to see."