St. Charles East enters third season under Nolan Possley with a ‘sense of urgency’

ST. CHARLES – To say it’s been a rough few seasons for the St. Charles East football program would not be false.

Over the past four seasons, the Saints have gone 5-27, including a 1-8 record in 2023, and won only two games in the DuKane Conference.

But heading into the 2024 season – their third under head coach Nolan Possley – a message has been echoing throughout the varsity locker room that’s been picked up throughout the entire program.

It’s time to win. And it’s time to do it now.

“The sense of urgency is as high as we’ve had it here,” Possley said. “This group has been revved up for a while. Every day, they’ve had that chip on their shoulder and that sense of urgency. We’ve been saying it is our time and it really represents how our guys want to start making moves in the conference and they know what’s ahead and how tough it is going to be, but they’re a really confident group.”

The change in culture comes at a time of great change for the Saints, whose hope is to keep things fresh, starting with the players. For the first time under Possley, the Saints expect to have none of their starters share time on both sides of the ball, which the head coach said has been a huge upside for the smallest program in the conference.

“One of the problems we had last season is that we had so many players that were playing every single snap, so by halftime they were really tired and they let our opponents blow past us,” Possley said. “So now having that depth and having these one-way guys going for us is going to be very valuable.”

The results have been noticeable so far not just to the coaches but the players.

“We just have a lot more discipline this year,” senior linebacker Luke Herrera said. “It’s a lot more competitive at practice and we’re getting better looks this year since we’re playing against the first-team offense and we’re getting the best reps possible.”

Herrera looks to be one of the cornerstones on a relatively young defense alongside fellow seniors Sean Keegan and Jake Campagna. After giving up 294 points last season, the most among DuKane Conference teams, Herrera said minimizing mistakes has been a main focus for the Saints’ defense.

“Whether it’s the D-line or coverage, we’re just getting it down and watching a lot of film and breaking down every single play and seeing what we could do better,” he said. “And we’re never really satisfied with how we’re playing.”

Brian Teresinski has returned to the program as defensive coordinator. Teresinski, who also has been a defensive line coach, was defensive coordinator when Possley was a player at East. The experience Teresinski brings with him has been felt throughout the program.

“Coach [Teresinski] is definitely a big increase for us,” Keegan said. “He just brings it and sets the tone in every practice. He pushes us to be better, and it’s been a lot better. It’s definitely setting us apart from where I thought we were last year at the same exact time.”

On the other side of the ball, only two seniors are expected to make up the offense’s 11 starters and a majority of the skill positions are held by juniors. They’ll be in new hands with Bo Starkey, who joined the Saints’ coaching staff last season as a line coach and takes over as offensive coordinator.

One thing that has stayed consistent on offense is threats at the wideout position. The Saints lost Charlie Bolsoni, but return two receivers to fill that gap in juniors Gavin Matejko and Sheko Gjokaj.

Gjokaj broke out last season with 63 catches and 664 yards to earn all-conference honors. He said while it was a good season on paper, he wasn’t satisfied with the results.

“I feel like there’s still a lot of things that I need to work on,” Gjokaj said. “And it’s good to build off that and come into this next year better than I was last year.”

The wide receivers will have a familiar face throwing the ball to them this season. With the departure of Mac Paul, the quarterback job has been handed down to junior JT Padron. He played with a majority of the receivers during their freshman season.

“Mac Paul was a really good quarterback, but JT definitely took to that role this year and is stepping up for the team,” Gjokaj said. “He’s a good leader for the team and I think he can make some big plays for us this year.”

Possley said with Padron manning the keys to the offense the Saints hopefully will open the door to their first playoff appearance since 2019.

“It’s going to be a little different even though JT keeps asking me to let him run,” Possley said. “But he’s someone that we value with what he brings to the table with his arm. And [running back] Xander Salazar is someone who is exciting anytime he has the ball in his hands. So he’ll take a little bit more of those carries that Paul had last year. But we’re really excited to see what this offense can do.”