The Evanston football team will have to wait another year for its first playoff win since 2003.
After losing on a last-second field goal to Maine South in the regular-season finale, the Wildkits looked listless in a 62-10 loss to South Elgin in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs on Friday, Oct. 30, at Streamwood. It was Evanston’s worst defeat of the season, surpassing a 48-21 loss to Notre Dame in Week 2.
“I didn’t recognize us,” Evanston coach Mike Burzawa said. “This was a different team than the one from the regular season. Our toughness, our physicality wasn’t there. After the devastation of last week, we just didn’t bounce back.”
The 12th-seeded Storm (9-1) scored on their first six possessions and led 42-10 at the half. Evanston (6-4), the 21st seed, did itself no favors by turning over the ball three times and missing too many tackles to count in the first two quarters.
South Elgin broke open the game with a 90-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jacob AmRhein to Andrew Kamienski, who shook off a would-be tackler at his own 12-yard line. The touchdown gave the Storm a 14-3 lead with 2 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Later in the half, the Upstate Eight Valley champion Storm converted three Evanston turnovers on three consecutive possessions into touchdowns to go up 42-3. Evanston got into the end zone when junior lineman Mo Brown returned a blocked punt 15 yards with 4.2 seconds to go in the second quarter.
“They got some big plays on us,” Burzawa said. “Everything unraveled.”
Evanston was missing two starters in senior receiver and cornerback Tray Banks, a Miami (Ohio) commit and the Central Suburban South Offensive Player of the Year, and senior linebacker and fullback Jalan Jenkins, the Central Suburban South Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Both were out with knee injuries, but both were expected to be ready to go for the second round.
“With Banks out, we knew we had some opportunities on the perimeter,” South Elgin coach Patrik Pistorio said. “They have some athletes on defense and they bait you into doing things, but we stayed disciplined in what we do.”
Making matters worse, senior quarterback and Western Michigan recruit Matt Little left the game at the 10:13 mark of the second quarter with a concussion after throwing an interception. Sophomore Drew Dawkins came on in relief, but he turned over the ball on his first two drives.
Evanston lost four fumbles and threw two interceptions.
“We weren’t focused,” Little said. “We fell apart quickly after they executed a few plays. We were out of it. But we played hard at the end.”
Little said not having Banks and Jenkins — two of the team’s best players — in uniform was difficult.
“It was a big challenge for us to overcome,” Little said. “I’m still proud of our team. There is a lot to learn from this.”
South Elgin senior running back Shawn Griffin gave Evanston problems all night. He finished with 17 carries for 143 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters. The playoff win was South Elgin’s second in the program’s 10-year history.
“To lose a game like we did last week and all the distractions of that and then get hit with losing two guys to injuries, we didn’t bounce back,” Burzawa said. “[Friday, Oct. 30] wasn’t who we are, but no excuses.”
More Top Picks Best Electric Guitars
Twitter: @harnesspreps