What should St. Charles North junior Keaton Reinke do at the next level?
Maybe whatever he wants.
Choosing will be a difficult decision for the two-sport standout who throws over 90 mph as a baseball pitcher and whose catch-and-runs as a wide receiver in football give defensive backs fits.
Just ask senior cornerback Jack Shannon, his teammate.
“I had to cover him in summer camp,” Shannon said. “Now, we’ve got a scout team that covers him, but man, I was terrified. I was terrified to line up across from him.
“But in the end, it really helped. I was guarding one of the best receivers in conference all summer, and when Week 1 came, it translated well when I had to go against other good receivers.”
Reinke showed why Friday night with nine catches for 97 yards, including two of the four touchdown passes by senior quarterback Ethan Plumb in a 42-7 DuKane Conference win against visiting St. Charles East in the annual crosstown rivalry game.
Plumb capped the opening drive for the North Stars (5-1, 3-1) by scrambling and connecting with the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Reinke wide open in the middle of the end zone for a 9-yard TD.
Plumb found junior receiver Braden Harms from 25 yards and then hooked up again with Reinke in the corner of the end zone from 28 yards for a 28-0 halftime lead over the Saints (2-4, 2-2).
Junior linebacker Aidan McClure blocked his second punt of the season, scooped it up and returned it 12 yards for the other score of the first half as the North Stars won their fifth straight in the series and improved to 13-11.
The 6-2 Shannon, who intercepted a pass in the end zone during the first quarter to thwart a drive by St. Charles East, explained what makes Reinke so tough.
“He’s so big, you wouldn’t expect such a big guy to move like that,” Shannon said. “He runs hard. A lot of receivers try to juke and do all that, but he runs hard. He’ll throw a stiff arm. He’ll lower his shoulder. He’ll run you over.
“He could be a running back if he wasn’t a receiver.”
Reinke made the varsity last year as a sophomore but broke his collarbone in the second game and didn’t return until the final week of the regular season.
“That was tough,” Plumb said. “It was a bummer because last year would’ve been the exact same thing he’s doing this year. He’s that kind of player. He’s special.”
So is Plumb, a four-year starter who completed 19 of 23 passes for 265 yards. He added a 4-yard TD pass to Euniel Mondesir and a 5-yard TD run he set up with a 46-yard burst around the end.
It came shortly after he had limped off the field.
“That was just a little dead leg,” Plumb said. “I landed on it weird and had to walk it off. I was going back in no matter what. I knew it wasn’t bad.”
It’s been all good for Reinke, who has 44 receptions for 616 yards and eight TDs this season.
“In practice, I never really saw somebody tackle him and just really cover him,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. “It hasn’t been a ton different in the season. He’s big. He’s fast. He’s got an unbelievable catch radius, and he blocks extremely well.
“He’s really passionate about both. He really loves football, and I think really wants to be a collegiate football player. I was a collegiate baseball player and understand his passion for it. Right now, just have fun with it.”
Last year, Reinke’s older brother, Parker, had to choose between basketball and baseball. Parker, a freshman outfielder at Taylor, picked baseball.
“I have to decide — it’s just wherever the future takes me,” Keaton said. “Football is looking real nice. I wanted to make my mark this year, get my name out there. It’s been pretty good.”
