As a junior last season, St. Charles North receiver Aedan Hayes played on the junior varsity level. That didn’t sit very well with him, so he decided to take a stand.
In the offseason, Hayes put a plan in place for himself that mapped out playing on varsity as a senior in 2023. And he also wanted to deliver somewhat of a breakout performance.
“I had to come into this season with a different approach and a different mentality toward practice,” Hayes said. “I’ve always known this school is one of the bigger titans in the area.
“I’d much rather play at a school and work for it and get respect through my work ethic than coming in and starting right away without having to challenge myself.”
He filled his offseason working with teammates in the weight room, plus speed training and 5 a.m. one-on-one sessions with junior quarterback Ethan Plumb.
The fruits of that labor arrived Friday night in a 40-14 DuKane Conference win at crosstown rival St. Charles East. Hayes had his breakout game with four catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns, including explosive scoring plays of 39 and 87 yards.
Plumb has been impressed with Hayes’ climb. The duo has known each other since fourth grade, when surprisingly Hayes was the left tackle in front of Plumb.
Now, they’re providing big plays for the North Stars (4-2, 2-2).
“That game was a long time coming,” Plumb said. “I knew it was going to happen eventually. It’s great to see he’s peaking right now because it’s almost the end of the regular season.”
Hayes has also taken advice from Andrew Kamienski, St. Charles North’s new receivers coach. The South Elgin graduate won an NCAA Division III national title at North Central College.
“He told me a lot about visualization, putting yourself into the situation before it comes,” Hayes said. “I kind of got into this hyper-focused state of mind during the game.
“It was just kind of me, the ball and Ethan. I was in my zone.”
St. Charles North’s offense was bound to look different after the graduation of bruising running back Drew Surges. The North Stars, however, have never had a passing game as prolific as this in program history.
Plumb has completed 142 of 208 passes for 1,757 yards and 23 TDs this season. Four different receivers — Jake Furtney, Hayes, Jake Mettetal and Anthony Taormina — have 100-yard receiving games.
“We have all the skill we need at receiver,” Hayes said. “I guess we kind of approached it like, ‘Yes, we’d still like to have a dominant run game, but we also want to be able to establish ourselves in the pass game as well.’
“I think we’ve done a really good job of showing teams that we are a threat vertically.”
With the program that St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak has built, he’s seen success stories like Hayes before.
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Pomazak mentioned former quarterback Mike Hohensee, who didn’t start until his senior season but became an all-state player.
“It’s nice to see different guys step up, and Aedan has worked hard,” Pomazak said. “The lesson to be learned is we’re a four-year program. To start at our school, you have to be really good.
“We have a lot of kids that are role players that would probably start at other schools. When your number is called, you have to be ready.”
To that end, Plumb has seen Hayes put those words into action.
“He wanted to get better,” Plumb said. “I think after last season, not having the year he wanted, he really took it to heart and wanted to have a better year this year.
“He’s done everything in his power to be on the field. He’s started every game. He’s showing what it takes to bounce back from a season he didn’t love last year.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.