Sophomore bursts onto scene to help Trevians pick up much-needed victory

A New Trier offense that has struggled to find its footing all season hit the ground running Thursday night behind a fierce, and unlikely, rushing attack. 

The Trevians scored six rushing touchdowns and amassed 215 yards on the ground during their 56-18 win over Glenbrook North on Oct. 10 in Northbrook. The victory is New Trier’s first in Central Suburban League South play this season, putting the Trevs back in the win column for the first time since early September. 

New Trier sophomore Declan O’Meara, who made his varsity debut during the Week 7 matchup, powered the Trevs’ backfield. O’Meara rushed for 101 yards across his 12 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns. 

“He’s a kid who we’ve been looking at all season,” New Trier coach Brian Doll said. “He’s had an amazing season with our sophomore team. They’re doing really well, and he’s a big piece of that, and he’s a huge piece of why they beat Maine South as a sophomore group. But tonight he kind of showed that he can play at this level too. 

“I think the thing that impressed me the most tonight was actually his vision,” Doll later added. “He saw a couple small holes and just popped right through them. He looked pretty explosive. And he’s really strong, I think people don’t realize how strong he is.” 

O’Meara burst onto the scene during New Trier’s third drive of the game when he broke off two big runs early in the series. He then capped the drive with a 21-yard touchdown run to put the Trevians up 14-0 early. 

The sophomore running back then found the end zone twice more in the second half to put the finishing touches on his darling debut performance. 

“It still feels unreal (scoring three touchdowns),” O’Meara said. “I kind of still feel like I’m dreaming honestly and like I’m going to wake up soon. 

“It’s a great feeling to be able to help the team, especially getting moved up my first week and making an impact,” he added. 

After a fumble inside Glenbrook North territory derailed a promising opening New Trier drive, the Trevs went on to score on eight of their next 10 drives. 

Quarterback Patrick Heneghan opened the scoring with a 10-yard run midway through the first quarter. 

Two drives later, Heneghan found the endzone again via a 9-yard keeper that put the Trevians up three scores early in the second quarter. The Trevs’ senior quarterback accounted for three touchdowns on the night. 

New Trier entered halftime up 21-6 after the Spartans scored right before time expired in the second quarter to cut into the Trevs’ lead. 

A strong kick return from Emmett Koshkarian set up the Trevians’ opening drive of the second half at their own 40. Eight plays later, O’Meara finished off the series with a 14-yard rushing touchdown. 

The Trevians got creative to find the end zone later in the third. On a second-and-3 play from inside North’s red zone, Heneghan tossed a pitch to sophomore Will Miller, who next tossed the ball to backup junior quarterback Marco Black, who then fired a pass back to Heneghan for a touchdown. 

“It was the coolest moment; that is something that I will probably never forget,” Heneghan said of the Trevs’ score. “A receiving touchdown on a trick play. … It was just awesome.” 

A 2-yard rushing touchdown from senior Colton Berg and a 39-yard touchdown pass from Black to senior Brady Peters were New Trier’s last two scores on the evening. 

New Trier’s 56-point outburst was a welcome sign for an offensive unit that’s struggled to find consistency and put much together this season. 

“We were able to do some things offensively early on that gave us some momentum and then just scoring points (was important for us),” Doll said. “We scored some points fast, hit a couple big passes early and … Declan had a night.” 

New Trier will return home next Friday night, Oct. 18, for a showdown with conference foe Glenbrook South on senior night. 

The Titans (3-4, 2-1) have been a thorn in New Trier’s side over the last several years, beating the Trevians in four of the two schools’ last five matchups. 

“They are a good football team again this year,” Doll said. “We get to play them at home on senior night, so we have to celebrate that and come out with the energy we brought tonight.

“The reality against Glenbrook South is you have to make very few mistakes. … You have to play that type of football where you’re not making mistakes and are able to run the football in key moments against them.” 

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