Matt Heinz relishes the challenge of being one of Naperville North’s biggest weapons this season.
“I’ve been looking forward to it for honestly since my freshmen year,” Heinz told the Chicago Tribune. “So I feel like I’m ready for it.”
Heinz is convinced he learned from the best last season when quarterback Drake Davis and wideouts Nick Calcagno and Ryan Laurenzo led the Huskies’ offense to an average of 32.9 points per game. With the senior trio now gone, Heinz is confident that he can pick up some of the slack.
“With Cal and Laurenzo gone, you have to take some of the workload on yourself,” he said. “I learned a lot under Cal and ’Zo. I feel like I can build off of that and try and have a great senior year.”
After bagging 22 catches for 436 yards and two touchdowns last season, Heinz is busy imagining all the ways he can add to that.
“I feel like my speed definitely helps me out, along with my route running,” he said. “But I work more on my foot speed to get in and out of cuts even quicker, get some more separation. I definitely have been working a lot on my foot speed to try to help me out.”
Naperville North coach Sean Drendel counts the team’s depth as one of its biggest strengths, and senior Cliff Vickers and junior Anthony Gabrione are battling to emerge as a replacement for Davis and his 3,409 passing yards and 32 touchdowns in his only season for Naperville North.
“I think, for me, it’s a little bit of athleticism, elusiveness,” Vickers told the Tribune. “Because if a play breaks down, I have the athleticism to get out of the pocket and make something happen with my feet.”
The quartet of linebackers Andrew Reinhard and Bo Richter and defensive backs Grant Pass and Sean Doyle anchor the Naperville North defense, and has Drendel liking his chances.
“We’re a pretty cohesive group,” he said. “Our brotherhood, our teamwork together has been outstanding.”