Senior QB Plumb looks to make the most of his final season with St. Charles North

Ethan Plumb knows that his time at St. Charles North has been a privilege.

Not only has he been able to spend his first three seasons playing at the varsity level against some of the best teams in the state, but he’s also one of two remaining players from the North Stars’ DuKane Conference-winning team from 2022.

So with Plumb’s senior season and fourth season on varsity officially beginning Monday and the first game against Palatine just a few weeks away, he knows what’s expected of him.

Pass down the knowledge he’s picked up over the past few years, and use that knowledge to get St. Charles North to its second conference title in three seasons, and its first state title.

And coach Robert Pomazak couldn’t be more thankful to have that.

“If there’s a kid who I’ll put myself behind, whether we win, lose or draw, it’s going to be Ethan,” Pomazak said. “He just does it the right way, and it’s like having another coach out there. And we’re super excited about having him be the leader of our program.”

Despite getting plenty of playing time in his first two seasons, last season was Plumb’s first full season as the primary quarterback for the North Stars. In that season, he threw for 2,546 yards and 20 touchdowns while adding an additional 10 rushing scores.

While North mainly focused on passing the ball last season, Plumb expects for the attack plan to be a lot more balanced, and as a result, unpredictable for the opposing defenses.

“Being able to have that balance on offense is going to be huge for us,” Plumb said. “But at the same time, we know that we can have the ability and confidence to switch those numbers around at any time and we’re going to be OK. But this year, if we have a more balanced run game compared to last year, and if we set up the pass game, we’re going to be a lot more effective and give guys a lot more chances to have bigger games.”

Plumb’s experience at quarterback is something that many teams in the DuKane will be lacking this fall. Of the eight teams in the conference, only Plumb and Wheaton Warrenville South’s Luca Carbonaro are returning.

While the North Stars know that the programs with new quarterbacks have the chance to keep up, especially powerhouse programs like Batavia and Wheaton North, Pomazak said that Plumb playing in his final season may give him an extra boost.

“Senior year is a really special year for a lot of quarterbacks,” Pomazak said. “You look at Ryan Boe last year, you saw him explode as a senior for Batavia because of the great coaching he got over three seasons. And I think that’s going to be similar with Ethan. Seniors lead, and seniors win in the DuKane Conference.”

Plumb isn’t the North Stars’ only returner in the backfield. Senior running back Joell Holloman, who’s the only other player to have that conference champion feeling on the roster, is also coming back from his first full season as a starter.

Holloman, who’s been playing alongside Plumb since they were 10 years old, said that having a dual-threat quarterback like Plumb in the backfield really opens up the game for both him and the entire offense.

“It just opens up our repass option abilities more so we can either throw the ball, give it off to me, or just keep it for himself,” Holloman said. “It’s just mad threats and mad options for us, which makes us a lot more hard for defenses to guard.”

Holloman hopes to get his numbers up from last season, where he finished with 897 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns. And after adding on 10 pounds between season, Pomazak thinks that his last season could be one for the record books.

“I don’t think there’s very many backs who come with the tools that he does,” Pomazak said. “He’s a 1,000-yard rusher waiting to break out, and in my opinion he might be the breakout player of the year for us. If we can block up front and keep people honest in the pass game, it’ll open up some holes for him, and he doesn’t need a whole lot.”

While the backfield is going to look relatively familiar for the North Stars, the players at wide receiver and on the offensive line will be a little bit different due to graduation. North graduated seven of its 10 receivers, including the top three receivers from a season ago.

But with players like junior Keaton Reincke waiting in the wings, along with the addition of Marmion transfer Braden Harms, offensive coordinator Brian Flynn feels like Plumb can have an effect very similar to a long-time quarterback from his favorite NFL team.

“Both he and [quarterback coach Brian] Townlake are big Packer fans, so we’ve compared it to the fact that they never drafted receivers, and Aaron Rodgers will make those receivers better,” Flynn said. “We’re not saying that he’s the next Aaron Rodgers, but we’ve made the analogy that now that our experienced players are gone, the onus is really on the quarterback to make those guys’s jobs easier.”

Plumb’s ultimate goal is to bring home a state title for St. Charles North this season. He saw the softball team win it all for St. Charles North in the spring, and he also saw the girls soccer team come a penalty kick away from a state title. With that success the school saw in the spring, he has just one question for him and his teammates.

“Why not us?” Plumb said. “We’ve had teams at North that have been doing it, and now we want it for ourselves. As long as you prepare for those key moments and the personnel get us ready for that moment, we’ll be ready and can get it done. It gives us a lot of motivation though. If other teams in other sports can make it that far, why can’t we do it as well?”

St. Charles North’s Ethan Plumb practices throws during the first day of practice on Monday Aug.12,2024 in St. Charles.