The new-coach-rebuilding-team theme fails to adequately describing Streamwood this season under new coach Don Guindon.
Guindon took over the program after Marc Orszula became the school’s athletic director, but Guindon has the advantage of being a Sabres assistant for five years.
He also has one other huge edge: Nine of his players have been on the varsity since their sophomore years. The group includes a handful of potentially explosive playmakers.
“Those guys understand the grind that’s coming,” Guindon said. “They know what it’s all about.”
Two of them are defensive backs who also play offense: Jelyn Hill, sixth in the Class 3A state high jump last year, and Upstate Eight River triple jump champion Brian “Nino” Adkins. On offense, Hill is a receiver and Adkins a back.
Also returning is Tae Reetz, a senior back and all-purpose player who had a supporting role with almost 400 yards of total offense as a junior. Senior Tim Crom and junior Joe Droll make it one of the deeper receiver corps in the Upstate Eight River.
“We have a lot of multipurpose players at receiver who can move into the backfield,” Guindon said.
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However, he may not need to use receivers as backs too much since he has Dazwan Bowens, Malcolm Davis-Wilder and Ka’Vari Allen to carry the ball.
“They run with the old-school mentality,” Guindon said. “They try to run behind the pads and get as many yards as they can and not go out of bounds.”
The quarterback battle came down to senior Keagan Cordone and sophomore Brendon Marton.
“Keagan is a big more of a runner who is pretty smooth in the offense and Brendon, being a basketball player, is 6-5 and more of a pocket passer,” Guindon said.
Senior center Junior Alvarez, another three-year varsity player, heads up a line Guindon thinks can compete size-wise and open holes.
“Last year we were able to move the ball a lot and pile up some big numbers and yardage on offense, but we weren’t consistent enough,” Guindon said. “That’s a major offensive goal this year is a more consistent attack.”
Middle linebacker Jake Painter is a returning three-year varsity player who spearheads the defense.
“We’re relying on a lot of underclass linebackers, so Jake is going to be a key for us with his experience,” Guindon said.
Nose guard Chance McCray (6-foot-3, 353 pounds) is slated to blockade the middle. Sam Pendry and Edgar Gutierrez are being counted on to help the pass rush, while Jesse Rico will see action in the secondary.
“The thing we’re really concentrating on as a staff is stopping the run this year,” Guindon said. “It was a problem. And we’re trying on offense to run the ball better, which goes hand in hand with that.
“If we stop the run, we can let our athletes in the secondary make plays and it will all work out for us.”
Twitter: @genechamberlai2
STREAMWOOD
Last season: 3-6 (3-4 Upstate Eight River).
Coach: Don Guindon, first year.
Players to watch: Jelyn Hill, senior, wide receiver/defensive back; Keagan Cordone, senior, quarterback; Jake Painter, senior, linebacker; Junior Alvarez, senior, center; Brian Adkins, senior, wide receiver.
Schedule: (x-denotes Upstate Eight River games, all begin at 7:30). Aug. 28: Hoffman Estates; Sept. 4: Dundee-Crown; Sept. 11: x-at Geneva; Sept. 18: x-Larkin; Sept. 25: x-at St. Charles East; Oct. 2: x-Elgin; Oct. 9: x-at St. Charles North; Oct. 16: at Bartlett; Oct. 23: x-at Batavia.