New Trier stumbles to its fifth loss to ensure a sub-.500 season

The hits keep on coming, and not in the Trevians’ favor.

Friday was another tough night on the gridiron for New Trier, which could not keep up with its visiting rival, Evanston, in a 40-20 outcome in Northfield.

The Kits’ 17 unanswered points in the second quarter provided separation from their hosts, and then 13 more unanswered in the second half sealed the deal for Evanston, which moved to 2-4 and pushed the Trevians to 1-5.

“We’re not very good right now. We’re trying to improve week to week,” Trevians coach Brian Doll said. “… We scored 20 points and probably left 20 on the field. We could have scored 40 tonight if we were in good rhythm. I think there was some improvement offensively from the last couple of weeks. Defensively, we played really well the past couple of weeks, but not tonight.”

New Trier held first-half leads of 3-0 and 10-7 on Friday, but each time Evanston fired right back with momentum-stealing touchdowns, each one 70-plus yards from quarterback Colin Livatino to receiver Justin Johnson.

Penalties helped keep the Trevians in check. New Trier committed six offensive infractions — three holds and three procedure slips — in the first half.

Fortunately, Trevians kicker Niki Dugandzic converted a 51-yard field goal and the offense took advantage of an errant snap and a 12-yard field to put points on the board.

“(Their big plays) killed us, but the flags killed us more,” Doll said. “We almost had double-digit penalties in the first half. That’s not good. You’re not going to win games like that. You’re going to get yourselves in a hole.”

Before halftime, Livatino added a 38-yard rushing score and his third passing touchdown — a 34-yard toss to Enijel Shelton after a play broke down.

Dugandzic’s second field goal, this one from 25 yards out, gave New Trier a pre-halftime boost.

The Trevians came out of the break looking like a different team, marching 73 yards in 11 plays before finding the end zone on a 9-yard strike from Patrick Heneghan to Will Miller to make it a one-score game, 27-20.

Miller was a major bright spot for the Trevians. The sophomore, who was coming off a missed Week 5, caught 10 passes for 70 yards and the touchdown.

“As a unit, we were just trying to score the ball, get down the field,” he said. “In the second half, we were like, we have to come in hot and just score the ball. That was our main goal. We scored the first drive and just did the best we could do.” 

Just like in the first half, however, Evanston wouldn’t be denied.

The Kits outdid the Trevs with an 80-yard, 16-play, 8-minute drive that culminated with Livatino’s fourth touchdown pass of the night.

“I felt like we had some things going,” Doll lamented. “Then I think they converted three third downs on their drive; that really sucked the air out of it, and it was like an 8-minute drive. That’s a tough way to eat all the clock.”

New Trier could not make anything else happen offensively, but the opportunities were there. On the evening, the Trevians passing game missed a handful of big-play chances that could have changed the complexion of the game.

“The connection between the quarterback and the receiver wasn’t there,” Doll said. “We got to convert those. We had a lot of chances and we missed.” 

Evanston on the other hand did not miss much. The Kits tacked on a sixth score to seal the deal in the fourth quarter.

Heneghan finished 20 of 42 passing for 201 yards. Senior Ben Zieziula had three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, while Dylan Benjamin added 72 yards and nine touches. Sophomore Alex Fairchild had two catches for 38 yards and consistently strong kickoff returns. And aside from the two field goals, Dugandzic provided booming, field-flipping punts all evening.

New Trier took its second straight loss to Evanston, including a heartbreaker in 2023.

The defeat also drops the Trevians to 1-5 and guarantees a third straight losing season (though, New Trier retroactively received an extra win in 2022 following an investigation into the Maine South program), and just about dooms their chances for a playoff berth.

New Trier will hit the road in Week 7 to take on Glenbrook North in a nontraditional Thursday matchup on Oct. 10.

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