February 10, 2025
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5 football storylines to watch in the Kane County Chronicle area

By Jacob Bartelson
Batavia's Ryan Whitwell (3) holds the second-place trophy alongside fellow captains following the bulldogs 44-20 loss to Mount Carmel during the Class 7A football state title game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022.

Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com Batavia's Ryan Whitwell (3) holds the second-place trophy alongside fellow captains following the bulldogs 44-20 loss to Mount Carmel during the Class 7A football state title game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign in 2022. (Joe Lewnard)

The first official day for football practices was Aug. 7. Here are five storylines for Kane County Chronicle area football teams for the upcoming season.

Batavia Quarterback Ryan Boe during 7 on 7 football at Kaneland High School Maple Park on Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

7 on 7 Football Batavia Quarterback Ryan Boe during 7 on 7 football at Kaneland High School Maple Park. (Mark Black)

Is Batavia ready for another state title run?

The Bulldogs are contenders for a deep postseason run after reaching the Class 7A state championship game last season. Some major pieces graduated off their defense, notably Tyler Jansey, but linebacker Ben Fiegel (a Southern Illinois commit), defensive lineman Jordan Buckley (a Ball State commit) and Texas transfer Malachi Smith figure to be centerpieces for another stout unit. Offensively, senior quarterback Ryan Boe (a North Dakota State commit) is back for his third season as the varsity starter. He has a new offensive weapon in junior receiver Isaiah Brown, a transfer from Yorkville, and they could create fireworks early and often.

Geneva’s Talyn Taylor (1) blocks St. Charles East’s Cayman Manuel during a game at St. Charles East on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.

Geneva’s Talyn Taylor (1) blocks St. Charles East’s Cayman Manuel during a game at St. Charles East. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

How high can Geneva junior wideout Talyn Taylor’s ceiling climb?

Taylor, a four-star recruit and mega talent for the Vikings, is going to be a major headache for opposing defenses this season. As a sophomore last year, Taylor finished with 45 catches, 660 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Already armed with more than 20 scholarship offers from colleges that include Alabama, Georgia, Miami (Florida), Michigan and Michigan State, Taylor is set for a monster season and is the type of talent who will dominate and win football games.

Kaneland quarterback Troyer Carlson looks for an open receiver during 7-on-7 football at against Batavia on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in Maple Park.

7 on 7 Football Kaneland quarterback Troyer Carlson looks for an open receiver during 7-on-7 football at against Batavia. (Mark Black)

Quarterback-rich teams

Kane County area teams are loaded at quarterback. Kaneland will have senior Troyer Carlson back for a fourth season as the varsity starter. Batavia senior Boe, St. Charles North junior Ethan Plumb and St. Francis senior Alessio Milivojevic, a Ball State recruit, are all in their third varsity seasons. Geneva senior Nate Stempowski is in his second season. That collective experience at the most important position on the field could make the difference in the win-loss column for many teams this year.

St. Charles North quarterback Ethan Plumb hands the ball off to Joell Holloman during a game at Geneva on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022.

St. Charles North quarterback Ethan Plumb hands the ball off to Joell Holloman during a game at Geneva in 2022. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com)

No Surges for North Stars

St. Charles North returns notable offensive talent in wideout Anthony Taormina and tight end Jake Furtney, but replacing the incredible production of graduated running back Drew Surges is a massive hole to fill. Junior running back Joell Holloman figures to be the first candidate to step up. While it won’t fall on one person’s shoulders, finding the type of impact that Surges provided will be important in the North Stars’ DuKane Conference title defense.

St. Charles North’s Drew Surges (6) runs the ball in the second quarter during a game at Batavia on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022.

St. Charles North’s Drew Surges (6) runs the ball in the second quarter during a 2022 game at Batavia. (Sandy Bressner)

Who wins the DuKane Conference?

It’s one of the state’s elite conferences and there is no reason to think it won’t be again. St. Charles North won a double-overtime classic over Batavia in Week 9 in part because of a herculean effort by Surges to clinch the DuKane Conference outright title last year. Will the North Stars stay on top? Does Batavia reclaim the title after winning it in 2018, 2019 and 2021? Could Geneva or another dark horse surprise? Time will tell.