Kane County notes: Keaton Reinke’s bounce-back season at St. Charles North turns historic

Keaton Reinke entered his junior season with fire in his gut.

After his sophomore season at St. Charles North was interrupted by an injury in Week 2 and ended in a mix of frustration and disappointment with a first-round exit in the Class 7A playoffs, Reinke knew that he wanted to prove that the North Stars were the real deal, and not just another team to be written off in 2024.

And 10 weeks into the season, he’s not only helped lead the North Stars to a 9-1 record, but he’s also made a little history himself.

After putting up 210 receiving yards in their Class 7A first-round victory over Rolling Meadows, Reinke became the first player in St. Charles North history with 1,000 receiving yards in a season.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” Reinke said. “Last year, I didn’t have the year that I wanted, and it really frustrated me because I knew that I was capable of performing at such a high level. This year, I wasn’t trying to do too much, but I definitely wanted to make my mark. And I just went out and played how I’ve always played, and my teammates helped me out along the way.”

Their 49-7 victory over the Mustangs was one of a few statement victories North has had over their six-game win streak after a Week 4 loss to Batavia. Reinke, who finished with a career-high amount of receiving yards in the game, said that the success had to do with the good vibes on the team, which was in thanks to the coaching staff

“I feel like coach (Rob) Pomazak has really put on us this culture and mindset that we need to go out there every day and give it our all,” Reinke said. “We just went out there and gave it our all. I know I had a pretty good night, and that was with help from the guys.”

A majority of that success on the season has been thanks to the play of his quarterback, senior Ethan Plumb. The four-year starter, who threw for a school-record seven touchdowns against the Mustangs, has built a solid bond with the junior, which has helped bolster the North Stars’ success on the field.

“He’s my ride or die. I’m with him all the time,” Reinke said. “I feel like we both agree to what our common end goal is, and we’ve both been fighting really hard for that. We just believe in each other, and every time we’re on the field together, I can trust him to do whatever he wants, and I can tell that he trusts me with everything he’s got.”

The trust will be put to its biggest test in the second round, where St. Charles North will face the two-time defending state champions in Mount Carmel in Chicago. While Reinke knows that a victory is a tall task, if there’s any team that can do it, it can be the North Stars.

“We’ve already established the amount of preparation that we need each week, and we set that tone in Week 9 and the weeks before,” Reinke said. “This week, we’ve said that the preparations need to be incredible, the best that it’s ever been. And I feel like that preparation is going to help us get to that goal of a state championship.”

Wheaton Academy transfer Greyson Kelly finds his place on Batavia’s offense

When junior running back Greyson Kelly decided to join Batavia after spending his first two years with Wheaton Academy, he wasn’t quite sure on how he would fit into the offensive scheme.

All he knew is that he wanted to play bigger football. And with some of the biggest football games in his career coming up, things have finally begun to click on offense for the junior.

“I think they’ve just been trying to figure out how to use me and (running back Nathan Whitwell) at the same time, and it’s finally been clicking these past couple games,” Kelly said. “So it’s been great to be in the rushing and receiving game.”

Kelly has been a solid compliment to Whitwell, putting up 444 rushing yards so far this season. But in recent games, he’s found a lot of rushing success in the Wildcat formation, including a 13-yard rushing score in their 54-13 victory over Collinsville on Friday.

“We were just messing around with it in practice, and then coach was like this might actually work,” Kelly said. “So we started running it in games. It’s been super fun to do, handing ball off the Nate and then just going off the snap.”

Kelly has also been used as a receiving option as well, especially on the backfield wheel route. Kelly said that spending time with wide receiver Isaiah Brown helped him in the receiving game, and it’s been something that head coach Dennis Piron has decided to show over the past couple games.

“He’s just kind of a weapon, and so he’s built into the offense over the course of the year,” Piron said. “This is a perfect time of year to unleash him.”

And with a do-or-die mentality in mind, Kelly knows that the combination of him and Whitwell can help carry the team to their third state title under Piron this year.

“Me and Nate, we’re both us being such versatile backs,” Kelly said. “I think we’re one of the best running back rooms in the state and it’s very helpful for our offense just to have so many guys that can make plays on our team. I think we’re going to go along a long way.”

Talyn Taylor gets one step closer to preseason goals in Geneva’s first-round win over Amundsen

Before the 2024 season began, Geneva’s star wideout Talyn Taylor had three goals in mind when talking about how he wanted to finish out his high school career.

“I want to have over 1,000 receiving yards, get over 15 touchdowns and help my team get to a state championship and win it,” the Georgia recruit said at the Kaneland 7-on-7 in July. “We’ve got a lot of goals for everyone this season.”

Nearly four months later, the five-star recruit has completed two of his goals on the season and finds himself just four wins away from completing the list.

Taylor sits at 1,102 yards on the season, with his 125 receiving yards in their 49-7 over Amundsen in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs getting him over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. Even more impressive, though, is needing only 52 catches to reach that mark.

The senior also sits at 20 reception touchdowns on the year, which in this season alone would put him four away from breaking the old school record for most scores in a career. The feat has been aided by five different three-touchdown games, including with his most recent one Friday.

His play on the field has been crucial for the Vikings, as they ended the regular season with their best record since 2015 and their first conference title since 2010. But the focus for Taylor and the Vikings now is getting four more wins to secure their first state title in school history to check off that final box to end his high school career on top.

Burlington Central becomes playoff winners for first time since 2006

It’s been a long time coming for Burlington Central. But after 18 years, the Rockets can finally say that they have won a playoff game once again.

The Rockets did it in dominant fashion as well, getting a 42-7 victory over Grant for their first postseason win since defeating Byron in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs in 2006.

The win was also their first home playoff victory since that same season, when they defeated St. Francis de Sales in the first round.

Leading the way was quarterback Jackson Alcorn, who had three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the contest. It’s another big accolade to add to his recent run of success with the Rockets this season.

“That was one of my personal goals at the beginning of the season is being the quarterback to lead this program into a playoff berth for however long it’s been,” Alcorn said. “And then to come out and win this game and know we’re going to move on to the next round, it just feels amazing.”

The Rockets will look to continue that success into the second round in a game at Geneva.