A year ago, St. Charles North’s Peyton Brown faced a tough situation, needing surgery to repair the labrum in his throwing shoulder.
It meant a nine-month recovery period.
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The right-handed Brown, who was behind Mike Hohensee on the depth chart, had that surgery on the day the North Stars won the Red Grange 7-on-7 Tournament at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“I remember just watching my Twitter feed on the couch,” Brown said.
This summer, however, Brown is back on the field and ready to lead the North Stars after the graduation of Hohensee.
Brown walked away on June 29 from the Red Grange 7-on-7 Tournament excited about finally getting the chance to be St. Charles North’s starting quarterback.
“It was kind of cool coming back here,” Brown said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. I remember when I had my injury, I put the schedule up. I’m so excited.”
Hohensee was the Upstate Eight River Offensive Player of the Year and a first team all-state choice before signing with Northwest Missouri State.
It’s not like the North Stars are taking a step back under center, however.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Brown also has been receiving significant recruiting interest. He’s highly regarded despite his lack of experience.
“I’m super proud of him,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said of Brown. “He’s stepping up. He’s a very good football player, and we’re really lucky to have him.”
Brown’s first significant action after the injury was in the Red Grange 7-on-7 Tournament. Pomazak let Brown go out and lead the team without much interference.
“This was his first chance of being in a super-competitive situation,” Pomazak said. “He’s risen to the occasion.
“I told him at the beginning of the day, ‘I’m not going to say much to you. I just want to see you succeed and I want to see how you act when you fail. I’m going to evaluate you more when you fail than when you succeed.’”
Brown prepared mentally for the opportunity while he was on the shelf last year. He worked with Hohensee to get the North Stars’ offense down pat and rolled that into the summer.
“I learned so much from Mike — how to carry myself personally, obviously hitting the weight room,” Brown said. “His decision-making was unbelievable. Learning how to read a defense was my main thing.
“It was awesome to watch him. Obviously I wanted to be behind him and learn from a physical standpoint, but I got a lot of mental reps.”
St. Charles North has made four straight playoff appearances, finishing 9-2 each of the past two seasons. The North Stars head into the new DuKane Conference, which figures to be extremely competitive.
Brown said the North Stars will be up to the challenge.
“This new conference is going to be a lot of fun,” Brown said. “We have a bunch of teams that know how to win football games. It’s going to be a very tough atmosphere.
“We’re a very focused group. I just can’t wait.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.