‘Real hungry’ Giants upend Wolves to claim first victory

Giants have a big appetite, and it had been a while since they were satisfied.

That changed on Thursday night.

“We just wanted to win. We were real hungry,” said Michael Bryant, Highland Park football’s senior quarterback.

The Giants (1-6) feasted on playoff hopeful Niles West (4-3) to earn their first victory of the season, 21-14, spoiling the Wolves’ senior night Oct. 10 in Skokie.

Bryant’s 5-yard touchdown run and dive with 8 minutes 21 seconds to go was the difference, and Highland Park’s defense halted Niles West’s last gasp with two pass breakups (JT Killeen, Spencer Auslander) inside the Giants’ 10-yard line in the final seconds.

“There was a lot of teamwork in that game,” Killeen said. “I really feel like everyone brought each other together, relied on each other and we made it happen in the end.”

Despite the eventual win, Thursday’s league matchup got off to an inauspicious start for Highland Park.

After a long Giants’ drive stalled, Niles West scored on a 77-yard run on its second offensive play. Just like that, 0-6 Highland Park was staring at another deficit.

“You just have to keep telling yourself, one play at a time, let’s just respond to this, keep chipping away,” Giants coach Anthony Kopp said. “And then we were able to stay with them and come out on top with a close ballgame, which we always love to be in.”

Highland Park answered early in the second quarter when Bryant found Andrew Nikolakakis for a 31-yard touchdown strike.

The Giants found out early rushing yards would be hard to come by and relied heavily on their air attack. They attempted 42 passes to just 13 runs.

Bryant was up to the task, completing 23 throws for 315 yards and two touchdowns in his flagship performance of the season. Kopp said his senior QB displayed the progress he’s made throughout his first season as a starter.

“I think Michael Bryant played a great game … especially with making smart plays,” Kopp said. “I’ve really been proud of his game management lately.”

Aside from managing the game, Bryant also found his favorite target all evening. Junior Lucas Gordon, who had been bottled up since his standout Week 1 performance, went off for 12 catches and 202 yards receiving.

Gordon and Bryant hooked up on a 67-yard, third-quarter touchdown that knotted the game at 14-14, and again with a 47-yard bomb — right after the Giants recovered a muffed punt — that set up Bryant’s game-winning TD rush.

“Lucas is one of the those guys where you gotta just keep going to him and he’s going to break it,” Kopp said. “You just have to trust it.”

The Giants defense was also up to the challenge Thursday.

After the Wolves’ second score, Highland Park’s defense halted the final four Niles West possessions — one ended with a punt and the last three were turned over on downs.

Killeen, a senior defensive end, wreaked havoc all night in the Wolves’ backfield. He finished with three sacks and five total tackles for loss.

“I came ready. I wanted to win,” he said. “I knew what we had to do and we just brought each together and pulled it off.” 

On Niles West’s final drive, Killeen had a key quarterback pressure and knocked down a pass.

Killeen, a basketball and baseball player for the Giants, is in his first year playing football. Safe to say, he’s figured some things out.

“It’s starting to click for him,” Kopp said. “If he played since freshman year, he’d be unstoppable right now. You can really see him learning the game.” 

Killeen also caught four passes for 41 yards, while Nikolakakis finished with 5 catches for 58.

At 1-6, the Giants have two more Central Suburban North matchups to finish their season. They will host Maine East (3-4) on Friday, Oct. 18, and wrap things up against Vernon Hills (1-6) on Oct. 25 in Highland Park.

Bryant and company like their chances.

“We know we’re winners now. We know we can win,” he said.

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