The last time Evanston’s varsity football squad went to the playoffs in 2003, most of the current players were in elementary school and had no idea they would create a new legacy of winning football at ETHS.
The Kits needed two wins in the last two games of their regular season to guarantee they would get a postseason spot, and they proceeded to take care of business in the first of those two games against Niles West on Oct. 15.
The Wildkits scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 60-yard bomb thrown by senior quarterback Byron Dawkins to wide receiver Mark Williams II (his only catch of the game) and cruised to a 34-0 victory over the Wolves on Senior Night in Evanston.
Rendell Massie scored from 19 yards out midway through the first quarter on a swing pass (his only reception) from Dawkins and ran it in to give Evanston a, 14-0, advantage. But the Niles West defense played tough the remainder of the first half, holding the Wildkits on a couple of drives, and limiting Massie to just 20 yards on four carries in the half.
But after halftime, it was pretty much all Massie, who rushed for 162 yards on 15 carries and scored a season-high four touchdowns. His numbers would have been even more impressive had a 97-yard touchdown romp not been called back because of a penalty.
On Evanston’s first possession of the second half, Massie led the charge as he pounded out runs of 8, 18, 8 and 28 yards before he capped off the five-play, 69-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown burst, breaking tackles, weaving through defenders and making it, 21-0, just 2 minutes, 22 seconds into the third quarter.
Evanston scored the next time it had the ball with 2:54 left in the third period. This time Evanston had the ball at the Niles West 8-yard line after Leonard Garron recovered a fumble. Four plays and one minute later, Massie blasted into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was no good but the, 34-0, lead was good enough for Coach Burzawa to sit Massie, Dawkins and some other starters out for the rest of the game.
After a big win at home against the Wolves, the Kits went for their sixth win of the season against a tough Glenbrook South team that was also looking for their guaranteed playoff spot. Early on in the game it looked like Evanston would have to hope for a discretionary postseason shot and be stuck with five wins, but after a quick pep talk by the Coach, the Kits did the unthinkable.
Evanston trailed, 17-0, at halftime and fell behind further after Titans senior running back John Strickland scored twice in the third quarter. He ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 8 minutes, 33 seconds left in the quarter. GBS cornerback Kevin Stevens recovered a Wildkits’ fumble on the ensuing drive. Then Strickland busted a 32-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-inches to give GBS a, 31-0, lead with 7:04 left in the third.
Evanston senior running back Rendell Massie was limited to 34 rushing yards in the first half, but he exploded for 172 yards on the ground in the second half, with three touchdowns and the go-ahead TD on a 15-yard run with 1:11 left in the game. Earlier he got Evanston on the board for the first time with a 9-yard TD run with 3:19 left in the third quarter to cut the GBS lead to 31-7.
Senior receiver James Brown came back with a vengeance after missing two games due to a foot injury. He caught passes for two touchdowns and was a key contributor to the Kits’ wild comeback.
After a 6-yard Massie run, Brown caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to bring Evanston to within 31-21.
Massie scored on the Wildkits’ next drive on a 23-yard cut-back up the middle with 7:01 left in the game, but a failed extra point attempt kept GBS ahead, 31-27. The Wildkits’ defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 4:33 left at its own 44.
An illegal hit to Dawkins’ head on a first-and-20 put the Wildkits at the Titans’ 18-yard line to set up Massie’s go-ahead touchdown to give Evanston an improbable, 34-31, victory. Their door to the postseason was finally opened.The Kits are a number 7 seed in their 8A bracket, and they will take on number 10 seed Fremd High School Friday night at Lazier Field. If Evanston moves on after this week, they would face either Loyola or Whitney Young in the second round the following Friday.
The last time Evanston’s varsity football squad went to the playoffs in 2003, most of the current players were in elementary school and had no idea they would create a new legacy of winning football at ETHS.
The Kits needed two wins in the last two games of their regular season to guarantee they would get a postseason spot, and they proceeded to take care of business in the first of those two games against Niles West on Oct. 15.
The Wildkits scored on their first play from scrimmage on a 60-yard bomb thrown by senior quarterback Byron Dawkins to wide receiver Mark Williams II (his only catch of the game) and cruised to a 34-0 victory over the Wolves on Senior Night in Evanston.
Rendell Massie scored from 19 yards out midway through the first quarter on a swing pass (his only reception) from Dawkins and ran it in to give Evanston a, 14-0, advantage. But the Niles West defense played tough the remainder of the first half, holding the Wildkits on a couple of drives, and limiting Massie to just 20 yards on four carries in the half.
But after halftime, it was pretty much all Massie, who rushed for 162 yards on 15 carries and scored a season-high four touchdowns. His numbers would have been even more impressive had a 97-yard touchdown romp not been called back because of a penalty.
On Evanston’s first possession of the second half, Massie led the charge as he pounded out runs of 8, 18, 8 and 28 yards before he capped off the five-play, 69-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown burst, breaking tackles, weaving through defenders and making it, 21-0, just 2 minutes, 22 seconds into the third quarter.
Evanston scored the next time it had the ball with 2:54 left in the third period. This time Evanston had the ball at the Niles West 8-yard line after Leonard Garron recovered a fumble. Four plays and one minute later, Massie blasted into the end zone from three yards out. The extra point was no good but the, 34-0, lead was good enough for Coach Burzawa to sit Massie, Dawkins and some other starters out for the rest of the game.
After a big win at home against the Wolves, the Kits went for their sixth win of the season against a tough Glenbrook South team that was also looking for their guaranteed playoff spot. Early on in the game it looked like Evanston would have to hope for a discretionary postseason shot and be stuck with five wins, but after a quick pep talk by the Coach, the Kits did the unthinkable.
Evanston trailed, 17-0, at halftime and fell behind further after Titans senior running back John Strickland scored twice in the third quarter. He ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 8 minutes, 33 seconds left in the quarter. GBS cornerback Kevin Stevens recovered a Wildkits’ fumble on the ensuing drive. Then Strickland busted a 32-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-inches to give GBS a, 31-0, lead with 7:04 left in the third.
Evanston senior running back Rendell Massie was limited to 34 rushing yards in the first half, but he exploded for 172 yards on the ground in the second half, with three touchdowns and the go-ahead TD on a 15-yard run with 1:11 left in the game. Earlier he got Evanston on the board for the first time with a 9-yard TD run with 3:19 left in the third quarter to cut the GBS lead to 31-7.
Senior receiver James Brown came back with a vengeance after missing two games due to a foot injury. He caught passes for two touchdowns and was a key contributor to the Kits’ wild comeback.
After a 6-yard Massie run, Brown caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to bring Evanston to within 31-21.
Massie scored on the Wildkits’ next drive on a 23-yard cut-back up the middle with 7:01 left in the game, but a failed extra point attempt kept GBS ahead, 31-27. The Wildkits’ defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back with 4:33 left at its own 44.
An illegal hit to Dawkins’ head on a first-and-20 put the Wildkits at the Titans’ 18-yard line to set up Massie’s go-ahead touchdown to give Evanston an improbable, 34-31, victory. Their door to the postseason was finally opened.
The Kits are a number 7 seed in their 8A bracket, and they will take on number 10 seed Fremd High School Friday night at Lazier Field. If Evanston moves on after this week, they would face either Loyola or Whitney Young in the second round the following Friday.