St. Charles N. hopes to shine for Gould’s finale
Mark Gould enters his 13th and final season as St. Charles North’s head coach. He’d love to end on a high note — for his players.
“A couple kids mentioned that they would like to help me go out in a successful season,” said Gould, who since 1979 has coached in St. Charles save one season at Geneva.
“I’m more, ‘Guys, I’ve had 34 years-plus and more when I played.’ I’m more do it for themselves, have a great year. I don’t talk about it and I really don’t feel comfortable about it.”
A health education and driver’s education instructor, Gould hopes their memories are not the type that marred last year’s 2-7 season.
It was an oft-nightmarish campaign during which apparent Week 1-2 wins became losses, then the North Stars got outscored 132-19 for an 0-5 start and second straight playoff elimination.
One refrain Gould repeated entering the 2011 season was to play aggressively. This year’s group seems to have that edge.
“I think we have more speed than we have had in the last few years,” he said. “Certainly we have a very aggressive group, which is good, that’s what I’m looking for. Put those things together, it should be a sign of success.”
Another is the seven returning offensive starters including 6-foot-6, 275-pound junior left tackle Chase Gianacakos, one of the top recruits of the Class of 2014. Like tight end Garrett Johnson and linebacker Reece Conroyd, he attended college one-day camps this summer.
Adding excitement to an offense that shifts to a spread scheme under new offensive coordinator Jared McCall is the return of senior running back George Edlund, who paved over Elgin with a team-record 286 yards rushing then hit Larkin with 178 in St. Charles North’s sole wins last year.
Gould called junior back Evan Kurtz “a load,” and returning receivers Ben Kaplan and Zach Kirby bring speed, Kirby helping set program relay records in track.
After a solid quarterback competition, fast and fluid junior Erik Miller earned the starting spot to enter the season. He’ll be pushed by senior Ryan Fischbach, who in 2011 took over at quarterback around midseason and passed for 4 touchdowns and just 1 interception on 39 completions.
“He’s just a good natural athlete that can make plays happen,” Gould said of Miller.
The defense, which also shifted to a 4-4 from a 3-5, is not quite as experienced but returns players who accumulated fine numbers. Conroyd’s team-high 101 tackles were nearly twice those of the graduated Sam Scorby. Rugby-tough end Wes Pasholk led North with 8 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. Senior linebacker Alec Datoli was last year’s third-leading tackler.
Improvement and seasoning must come on the lines, Gould said, but that’s not uncommon. He believes chemistry and emotion will counter some of the inexperience.
In the end, it may send the man out with positive feelings all around.
“I hope the kids, they want a great season for memories for themselves,” Gould said.