Last Friday, the Trevs beat the Evanston Wildkits 14-12 after junior Francis Fay scored the winning touchdown with three minutes to go and a last minute defensive stand.
In this 106th matchup against Evanston, the Trevians capitalized on the Wildkits’ mistakes. The Wildkits’ 27-yard loss because of a bad snap on a punt attempt led to Fay’s score, where he punched it in from the one yard line. Fay told the Chicago Tribune that he looked up to his brother, Daniel, a 2014 New Trier grad. “He will be the first person I call to talk about the game.”
The matchup opened with a 3-0 Evanston lead following Owen Ennis’ 31-yard field goal. The score remained unchanged until the opening of the second half when junior quarterback Clay Czyzynski scored from one yard to make the score 7-3. Czyzynski’s offense was crucial for the team, with 17 rushes for 77-yards and 9-16 passing for 51-yards.
The fourth quarter began with an early 33-yard Ennis field goal, making the score 7-6. Following Fay’s touchdown, Evanston retaliated with a 3-yard touchdown run by senior Tray Banks, to make the score 14-12. Their attempt at a two point conversion, however, fell incomplete. Senior Devin Murphy’s pass rush caused it to be off-target, skimming past the fingertips of Banks in the back of the end zone. Evanston attempted an onside kick which was recovered by senior Joe Lewis, and the game was won. The two teams were never separated by more than eight points throughout the game.
Max Bryla, a junior reserve linebacker, rose to the occasion in the second quarter when inside linebacker Max Rosenthal left with an injury. Bryla managed five tackles, including one for a loss.
Senior outside linebacker Charlie Stimson had 7 tackles, including a 14-yard sack of Evanston quarterback Matt Little and a 3-yard tackle for a loss.
Czyzynski, Stimson, and Bryla, as well as senior OLB Colin Casas and senior safety Lucas Bartzis received the game balls.
With this victory, the Trevians are 5-0 under Head Coach Brian Doll for a second season. Doll became the coach in 2014.
“I got a ton of e-mails and texts this week about the game,” said Doll, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Our kids are passionate about it, and it was good to be in a tight one with a playoff-like atmosphere.”
He later tweeted saying, “Great win for the trevs last night at Evanston. 14-12 and a classic rivalry game. So proud of the team. #5-0 #gotrevs.”
The Trevians have proven victorious in the recent E-Town beatdowns, as the last time the Wildkits won was 2010, by a score of 18-15.
Despite this victory, New Trier will have to win more games against the Wildkits to settle the score. Evanston still has an advantage on New Trier, with a 54-47-5 overall record.