North High School Football Star

On Des Moines North’s practice field – situated between Grubb Stadium and the Des Moines River – senior running back Aron Gonkaryon does not stand out.  (Story and pictures by Bryon Houlgrave/The Register)

At least, not at first.

It’s one of the first days of practice with cooler fall weather, and the sun is hidden behind clouds as the Polar Bears run through drills. North players and coaches are in high spirits after winning three of their first four games. In the days since, the Polar Bears added another win, bringing them to 4-1 on the season.

Music blares through a speaker near one of the garages used to hold practice equipment. In between drills, but partially hidden among his teammates, Gonkaryon dances along to the beat. He has reason to be in such high spirits, because he’s a large part of the reason for North’s winning record.

While he might not be easy to pick out amongst a crowd of players, his helmet gives away exactly who Gonkaryon is.

North head coach Eric Addy hands out star-shaped helmet stickers once a week. Players get stickers for various offensive, defensive and special teams plays, as well as things like total yards, pass breakups, touchdowns, tackles-for-loss and touchdown-saving tackles.

Most of the players’ helmets have a handful. Several have no stickers at all.

But Gonkaryon, well his helmet is littered with 48 total star stickers.

And that’s only through half the season.

See more of the story on the Des Moines Register website: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/09/29/iowa-high-school-football-aron-gonkaryon-des-moines-north-ihsaa/10369440002/