On Tuesday night the Kits stormed the field to play the aggressive Whitney Young in their fourth game of the season. After demolishing Glenbrook North, Evanston (1-2) was hoping to keep that momentum coming into this game. The Kits eventually fell short losing 19-20 in a memorable game.
“Going into the game we were kinda going in with an open mind. We didn’t know what they were bringing to the table. I emphasized the deeper play to the defense. I told them to make sure to be watching the backfield,” stated coach Delaney Roegner.
As the game got underway, the crowd knew that it was sophomore Kynia Hunt’s game to be played. After the Kits went down six points, junior quarterback Maggie Conforti threw a dot to a wide-open Hunt who ran 40 yards to put Evanston on the board. An already hyped-up crowd roared as in the following play Hunt picked off Whitney Young and ran into the endzone to score six more points.
“Kynia scored 12 of our 19 points. She was out there hustling on defense and offense. She put in really good energy on both sides of the ball,” voiced Roegner.
As the first half played on, the Kits maintained control and the defense looked impenetrable. Senior Nyel Rollins was leading the charge as she brought much-needed pressure to the quarterback, but a costly throw brought the game to a tie.
Evanston started the second half with the ball and drove up the field and into the red zone. Conforti dodged the incoming rusher and threw a crisp pass to sophomore Payton King who juked out a Dolphins receiver and ran into the endzone to put the Kits up seven points. Once again, the silent crowd came alive as the Kits looked on fire, but a long drive by Whitney Young ended in a touchdown, which put the Kits down by one.
“Our girls have to focus on turning the game around when it’s not going their way. Some girls got in their head after a bad play, and shaking a bad play off is something I want to see them grow in,” Roegner commented.
E-Town failed to get their offense going on the following drive but another costly mistake resulted in a pick in the red zone that iced the game for Whitney Young.
“I think we did good moving the ball and cheering each other on. I feel like we came together as a team,” Confonti stated “When things went wrong, we supported each other and when things went right, we cheered each other on”
The Kits are lined up to play Deerfield (0-4) on Friday, Sep.13. They hope for an easy win as Deerfield has struggled to get their offense going to open the season.
