When the Blackhawks of West Aurora High School take the field against Huntley at 7 p.m. on Friday in the first round of the IHSA 2024 football playoffs, West Aurora grad Kelly Roney will be along the sidelines watching this home game with a whole lot of pride, and perhaps a twinge of regret.
Kid brother Casey wears jersey number 12 on this undefeated team, the star kicker who has committed to playing at Illinois State University next year.
Kelly, now a junior at the University of Iowa, was a West High kicker as well who showed a whole lot of promise on the field. A soccer player all his life, the young athlete switched sports after his sophomore year because he loved the “tradition and the culture” of football, and became the varsity kicker as a junior.
But the pandemic cut that season short: West played only five games, one less than the already shortened spring schedule because of virus protocols, according to Head Coach Nate Eimer.
Even more disappointing, just a couple weeks before the start of his senior season, Kelly tore a quad muscle in a national showcase for kickers.
Anyone who has ever been an athlete (or loves one unconditionally) knows just how devastating injuries can be. What Kelly hoped was a minor strain put an end to his dream of playing football beyond high school. Despite trying his hardest to heal with rest and physical therapy, he was only able to return to the field for part of that senior season.
And all he could do was support his teammates on the sidelines, including Casey, a freshman who only decided to switch from soccer to football, he told me, “at the last minute” and was soon called up to take his older brother’s place.
Was there a pang or two of jealousy watching the team play from the sidelines? Of course, Kelly admits. How could there not be when dreams come crashing down so unexpectedly.
Fast forward three years to this season, where number 12 is riding high, in large part because his injured big brother stepped in as his mentor and coach three years ago. And that relationship continues to exist, even after Kelly went to Iowa, where he’s majoring in sports management, yet still offers Casey advice, particularly when it comes to the mental game that is so critical to a kicker’s success.
Back when Casey was just learning the game, recalls mother Ingrid Roney, the two boys “spent hours in the front yard” practicing kickoffs until it got dark.
“Now since Kelly is away, they talk a few times a week not only about the videos Casey sends him of his kicking, but the mental side of being a kicker as well,” she says. “Kelly has been a great supporter of the physical and mental part of the sport … I am very grateful and proud of their relationship.”
As is his brother.
“He gave me a good base, but I still rely on him, even if he’s four hours away,” acknowledges Casey. “He gives me that confidence to get ready, especially for the big games.”
And they don’t get much bigger in IHSA football than now.
This first round of the Class 8A playoffs against a good 5-4 Huntley squad certainly has the team and an entire community excited, says Eimer, who had a front row seat watching a big brother help his freshman sibling take on the varsity role after the injury that sacked Kelly’s own gridiron opportunities.
“There is no question, Kelly was his coach,” insists Eimer, who describes the Roney brothers as “awesome young men,” and notes that Casey, too, has become a mentor and role model for the younger Blackhawk kickers.
Both head coach and brother give Casey high praise for his work ethic and desire to always improve his game, a trait that has paid off well for the younger Roney, who broke season (51) and career (118) records for most PATs (points after touchdown), as well as touchbacks in a season (39) and in a career (68).
While his own football career “was not meant to be,” notes Kelly, “I wanted to be there for my brother.”
And certainly he will be, along with what is expected to be a sellout crowd when those Friday night lights are turned on.
“Casey’s come a long way,” adds the older sibling. “I’m super proud of him.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
