Sideline shakeup, fresh faces will give New Trier football a different look in the fall

Just like most football teams in the state of Illinois, the New Trier Trevians will enter their upcoming season featuring a batch of fresh faces. But contrary to many of their peers, the Trevs will also start 2024 with a new look on the sidelines.   

Following a pair of disappointing seasons that each resulted in missing out on the state playoffs, New Trier begins its upcoming campaign with “some big changes on staff,” head coach Brian Doll told The Record. 

Former defensive coordinator Jason Dane is back with the program leading the team on that side of the ball. New Trier alumnus Stephen Spellman is taking over as special teams coordinator, while Demetrios Vrettos is the Trevians new offensive line coach and former Trevians player Christian Miller will coach the team’s defensive backfield. 

“We have some familiar faces but also some new faces,” Doll said. “We spent a lot of time in the offseason evaluating what went wrong last year and I think we’re really excited (for this year) and the energy is flowing through the staff and the kids right now. There’s just a lot of positive vibes.” 

Another significant change for New Trier is the return of Doll as the team’s offensive play-caller, following the retirement of longtime offensive coordinator Mike Napoleon.

“It’s back to what I started as when I first got the job, so I’m having a lot of fun calling offense again,” Doll said. 

New Trier showcased an early look at what’s to come this fall on Wednesday, July 10, during the Central Suburban League 7-on-7 invitational hosted by Maine West High School.  

The event featured two dozen local teams and offered New Trier a chance to test its group against some of the area’s top talent.

The Trevians are eager to return to the gridiron to avenge last year’s rocky campaign that resulted in a 3-6 record. The 2023 season was just the third time in the last 17 years that New Trier did not qualify for the postseason. But this year’s group is working hard to ensure last year’s struggles are a thing of the past. 

“We’ve kind of taken a different approach of not sulking on last year and saying let’s forget about it, let’s turn the page and let’s move on and have some positive vibes going into the season,” Doll said. 

Senior stalwarts Patrick Heneghan (quarterback) and Jayden Salazar (running back, defensive lineman) “are leading by example” and “creating good chemistry and team bonding” within the group, Doll said, adding that it’s been a huge benefit for the team to have their leadership on full display this summer. 

Heneghan will return under center for New Trier this fall for his third season as the Trevians starting quarterback. Having a three-year starter running the offense will be a huge benefit for the team, Doll said. 

It will be a completely new look for the Trevians’ backfield as they’ll need to replace last year’s leading rusher Jackson McCarey, who paced New Trier’s ground game with just under 800 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. 

New Trier plans on Salazar, Colton Berg and Brady Peters leading the rushing attack this year. The trio offers the Trevs some size and speed out of the backfield, Doll said, who added that the Trevs are “going to be able to bang a little bit with them.”

The Trevs will head into the year needing to replace one of the program’s most talented players in recent memory in two-way standout Miles Cremascoli, an Ohio University commit who hauled in 50 passes for for nearly 900 receiving yards a year ago. His All-Conference season also included five interceptions. 

Fortunately for the Trevs, this year’s roster features a deep group of high-upside options at wide receiver. 

“Our biggest area of depth on our entire team is actually at wide receiver,” Doll said. He added that New Trier currently has more than half a dozen players it expects to contribute at wide receiver this season. 

“Just having like seven or eight guys that can play receiver and can kind of give us different looks, I’m really excited about it,” Doll said. 

Perhaps the biggest change to the Trevs’ offense will be the addition of senior Dylan Benjamin to the receiving corps. The Trevs are expecting big contributions from Benjamin, who will also lead New Trier’s defensive backfield. Ben Zieziula, Keefer Baxter, Will Miller and Alexander Fairchild are all also expected to be key options at wide receiver. 

Defensively, the Trevs will look to Berg as one of the unit’s leaders. The senior was third on the team in tackles last season and he’ll enter 2024 at the helm of the group’s linebackers.   

New Trier’s defensive line may not feature the size it did last season, but the group will be “extremely fast up front and pretty strong,” Doll said. 

CJ Donnelly — who saw some action at quarterback last season in the absence of Heneghan — joins Benjamin as a key cog in the defensive backfield. 

With the opening of the 2024 season approximately seven weeks away, the Trevians are eager to see what’s in the store this fall. 

“If we stay healthy, and we can fill a couple pieces here on the offensive line and a couple defensive back spots, I think this group could have a really positive experience and positive season,” Doll said. 

“And I think chemistry right now is really important. You can feel it as a coach sometimes when you’re going through the summer and they’re not enjoying it and guys really aren’t close, but this group has really impressed me with how tight they are and how tight the coaches are.” 

NEW TRIER FOOTBALL 2024 SCHEDULE 

Friday, Aug. 30 — Naperville North (H)

Friday, Sept. 6 — Yorkville (H) 

Friday, Sept. 13 — Prospect (A) 

Friday, Sept. 20 — Palatine (H) 

Friday, Sept. 27 — Maine South (A) 

Friday, Oct. 4 — Evanston (H) 

Thursday, Oct. 10 — Glenbrook North (A)

Friday, Oct. 18 — Glenbrook South (H)

Friday, Oct. 25 — Deerfield (A)

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