Last season, South Elgin’s Ishmael George was on a mission to establish himself on the varsity.
George definitely did that, catching 46 passes for 908 yards and 20 touchdowns.
He did it while playing out of the triple-option offense — a run-heavy formation — and only seeing action during the first half of most games since the Storm were blowing teams out.
What does he have in store for an encore in the pass-heavy spread offense of coach Pat Pistorio, who is back with South Elgin after a six-year hiatus?
“You still have people out there who are like, it’s just one season, not a great conference,” George said. “What’s he going to do against Barrington, Batavia, West Aurora, new teams coming in?
“It’s basically staying on 10 toes, keep moving forward and don’t listen to anything. Just stick to what me and my brothers on the field are doing.”
The Storm have a beefed-up schedule, opening with nonconference games against perennial powers Barrington and Batavia. They also welcome back Pistorio, who coached South Elgin from 2013 to 2017, and check in at No. 5 in the Aurora-Elgin preseason rankings.
Pistorio was impressed with what George accomplished despite not being in an offense that displayed all of his talents.
“I believe the coaching staff did a nice job of really highlighting and showcasing what ‘Ish’ can do,” Pistorio said. “With that style of offense, they did a great job of finding a playmaker who can really put the defense in a bind.
“Some of the principles, being able to high-point the ball, being able to use the height he has and being able to separate, we can find a way to do that same thing. It’s just going to look different, and that’s OK.”
To ease the transition from the Dragan Teonic era, Pistorio brought back two former star receivers to be on the coaching staff. Andrew Kamienski and Derek Kumerow went on to decorated NCAA Division III careers at North Central College and Wisconsin-Whitewater, respectively.
“He’s a talented kid,” Kamienski said of George. “He works hard — couple things to polish. He’s still young. He has that natural receiver ability. You can tell he’s still raw just because of the offense he played in, not having that true receiver coaching.
“Getting him up to speed and how he’s going to progress to the college level, I’m excited to watch his career unfold.”
Senior quarterback Jack Ginnan also returns for the Storm. He only played seven games last season but threw 20 TD passes, many to George. He’s excited to unleash this new-look offense.
“Coming out last year and what we did through the triple-option, I think that just spoke volumes to who we are as an offense but also who we are as players,” Ginnan said. “I feel like with this new offense this year, without giving to much away, just take what we did last year and build on it.
“That’s what we’re going to do this year. It’s going to be fun.”
South Elgin’s Ishmael George (83), makes a catch as Lane Tech’s TJ Harper defends during a Class 8A first-round playoff game in South Elgin on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (Mark Kodiak Ukena / The Beacon-News)
When George heard about the coaching change, he had to do a little research to see how it would affect him. It didn’t take long for him to be on board.
“When I came, I saw the way he maneuvered,” George said of Pistorio. “He’s giving us a college look at a high school level. He’s giving me the mindset of what college is going to look like, what I’m going to do in college. I can rock with this. The offensive change is great.”
George said he has received some NCAA Division II and Division III offers thus far, but he’s hoping to use this season as a platform.
“I’m just going into my senior year, so you never know where this could take me,” George said. “I could go through the roof by the end of my senior year. Slow motion is better than no motion.”
Team: South Elgin.
2023 record: 9-2.
Offensive leaders: Brandon Berrios, senior, tight end; Jack Ginnan, senior, quarterback; Cole Jurcy, senior, wide receiver; DeAngelo McCullough, senior, wide receiver.
Defensive leaders: Nico Barkho, senior, defensive back; Cayleb Linstad, senior, defensive lineman; Francesco Macaluso, senior, defensive end; Vincenzo Tusa, senior, linebacker.
X-factor: Ishmael George, senior, wide receiver.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
