The New Trier Football team ended their season this past Saturday after a defeat against number one ranked Stevenson in the quarter finals of the playoffs.
“This was an incredible season for us,” said head coach Brian Doll. “We accomplished so much this year and brought football back to the school and we were able to give back to the school and the program.”
The Trevs had an impressive playoff run beating Glenbrook South (GBS) and Curie in the first and second round of this year’s regional playoff. The team hasn’t made it to the quarterfinals since 2003.
The Patriots first drive of the same resulted in a missed field goal, and the momentum swung in favor of New Trier when Stevenson quarterback Willie Bourbon was intercepted by senior cornerback Nick Krauskopf. The return set the offense up with a short field and first and goal.
However, the Trevians settled for an Endre field goal. This promising 3-0 lead would not last long, though.
Stevenson responded with a four yard touchodwn reception from Northwestern-bound receiver Cameron Green, and would never look back, taking a 21-3 lead at half.
“It was a difficult game for us and we didn’t play our best in that game,” said Doll. “I was glad that we could finish the season with some good memories for our seniors.”
The Trevian defense held up well with their backs against the wall, but turnovers ultiamtely proved insurmountable.
The Patriots forced four turnovers, most notably a 35 yard fumble recovery for a touchodwn, putting the game out of reach at 28-3.
The score was 38-3 late in the fourth quarter when senior quarterback Will McCain threw a touchdown pass to Hammes with 28 seconds remaining. The late score for the Trevians made the final 38-10.
While the end result was a dissapointment, the road to the quarterfinals was a wild success.
On Nov. 8, the Trevians faced fifth ranked Curie at home. After a fumbled kick return by the Trevians, Curie pounded the ball in for a touchodwn to take a 7-0 lead. New Trier quickly responded on a brilliant 97 yard touchdown reception by senior wide receiver Scott Hammes.
The teams traded touchdowns, resulting in a 14-14 tie at halftime. The Trevians grabbed their first lead of the game on yet another Hammes touchdown reception, but it was short lived. Curie tied up the score at 21 late in the fourth quarter.
“The game was a great experience,” said head coach Brian Doll. “The staff and players came into the game overconfident. We never had a really close game like the game against Curie.”
A failed fourth down conversion by the Trevians sent the game into overtime, where Hammes’ fourth touchdown reception of the game gave New Trier a 28-21 lead. Hammes would finish the game with video game numbers, 6 catches for 173 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Curie scored on their possession in overtime, and opted to go for the outright win by going for two. Junior linebacker Colin Casas blew up the attempt with a sack, giving the Trevians the 28-27 win.
“Being on the field for the last few plays was so awesome,” said Fox. “The last few plays of the game don’t normally happen, so being on the field when they did was great.”
In the first round, New Trier faced GBS, a conference rival, on Nov. 1 at the Northfield campus. The Trevians won handily in their regular season matchup, a 49-24 stomping.
The first half against GBS concluded with a 3-0 lead for the Trevians, the points resulting from junior kicker Nick Endre’s season-long 35 yard field goal.
“The game against GBS was fun because we got to beat them again,” said senior linebacker Tim Fox. “They weren’t bad and we had good game plan for our offense and our defense was able to shut them down.”
In the second half, New Trier’s staunch defense held the Spartans to only two touchdown, the second coming when the game was out of reach. New Trier defeated the Titans by a final score was 24-14 and moved onto the second round of the playoffs to play Curie.
Though this was the final game to an impressive season players and coaches alike are already excited for what is to come with this promising and rejuvated program.
“We have a good starting point for next year and more kids want to sign up and be a part of the program.” said Coach Doll. “We created a lot of buzz and excitement for the Football team.”
“The playoff run created more interest in playing football,” agreed Fox. “A lot of kids didn’t want to play because of injuries and concussions, but now more kids are signing up.”