Evanston Ousts Defending Champs, Advances To Elite Eight

Defense really DOES win championships.

Evanston’s ability to contain one of the most explosive players in the state of Illinois --- Maine South quarterback Emerson De La Cruz --- gave the Wildkits just the edge they needed to register a heart-stopping 7-6 victory over the defending state champion Hawks Monday night in the Evanston Sectional championship game.

A goal line stand with two minutes left kept the season alive and clinched Evanston’s school record 18^th win.

The Wildkits (18-2) will advance to the Illinois High School Association Elite Eight for the second time in three years, and they’ll face undefeated St. Charles North in the first state quarterfinal game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday at Willowbrook High School.

Evanston and Maine South have taken turns knocking each other out of the state playoffs the past two seasons, with ETHS eliminating the Hawks in the regional and South stopping a possible state title drive by the Kits with a 7-0 triumph in the sectional finals last year.

Monday it was Evanston’s turn, thanks to a pair of senior defenders who weren’t sure they’d even suit up for the showdown.

Camille Calixte, ruled out for the season after having undergone surgery for a fractured thumb, unexpectedly returned despite medical advice to the contrary. And classmate Nikki Dandelles has been in and out of the lineup all season with a bad knee that will likely require surgery at some point.

Both players have played the designated pass rush positions their entire careers --- but couldn’t even think about sacking the elusive De La Cruz due to the game plan drawn up by the ETHS coaching staff.

Head coach Carlton Rosemond said the plan was to make De La Cruz beat the Kits with her arm, not her legs, and the strategy worked to perfection. Calixte accounted for one sack for the winners, but De La Cruz only connected on 13-of-29 passing attempts for 176 yards to go with 10 rushing attempts for 62 yards.

Faced with a 4^th and 3 situation at the two-minute mark, De La Cruz launched a pass over the head of intended receiver Nellie Ossmo in the end zone and the hosts were able to run out the clock.

“You have to have a moment where the defense stands up for you, and that’s what they did tonight,” said a relieved Rosemond. “And what can you say about Cam and Nikki? Playmakers make plays, and they showed just what leaders they are.”

The defensive discipline provided by steady seniors Calixte and Dandelles was off the charts, by any measure.

“If you’re going to try to get sacks (against De La Cruz), she’s quick enough, she’s elusive enough to use your momentum against you,” Rosemond pointed out. “We felt like if we could just box her in and make her just be a quarterback, we could win. That was the blueprint, and as seasoned rushers, Cam and Nikki really contained her.

“Nikki’s had issues with her knee, but by gosh, we needed her tonight! And Cam hasn’t played a game all season and had no plans to play (until the weekend). When we were here Saturday she said ‘Coach, I can pull flags with one hand if I wrap this thing (splint) up’ and I said don’t tempt me. And once she felt she had a chance to play, she was gung-ho to do it.”

“I’m just so happy Camille could play tonight,” Dandelles said. “When she’s on the field, I’m a better player. She lifts everyone up just when she walks into a room. Having her back was a huge momentum boost for us. I wasn’t thinking about sacks at all tonight. We just wanted to contain their quarterback, and it worked. Our defense locked her down.

“Getting to State means everything. The last time we went (in 2024), I was there just for fun. It really means something to me now.”

“I’ve been going to physical therapy twice a week and I’m still not close to being fully recovered. I was told I shouldn’t play,” Calixte confessed. “I know I pushed it, but this was my last chance to play on my home field. I wasn’t going to miss it.

“It felt really good to be able to play again. Emerson (De La Cruz) is a beast, truly one of the best players in the state, but me and Nikki just took a breath (before every play) and tried our best to get to her.

“I’m so excited, so excited, so excited to go to State! I think we can go all the way if we just stay disciplined like we did tonight.”

Following a scoreless first quarter, Evanston broke through for the go-ahead score on the first play of the second period on a 4-yard TD run by quarterback Ava Bellis. That play capped a 46-yard drive after South turned the ball over on downs, and Bellis threw a strike to Ella Martin for the extra point.

That play proved to be the game-winner after the Hawks countered with an 86-yard touchdown pass from De La Cruz to Julia Laske. Laske broke free of an attempted pull and raced to the end zone.

On the PAT try, however, De La Cruz fired an incomplete pass and the Hawks never scored again.

Martin, a junior safety, intercepted a pass in the second period and added a couple of clutch catches down the stretch to help preserve the lead for the winners.

She also stayed right with Ossmo on that pivotal fourth quarter pass play that ended South’s season at 16-7.

“Right now, it just feels surreal,” Martin said. “We dreamt of this moment from the start of the season. Having Camille back gave us so much energy --- and we seized the moment.

“We made that one mistake on their touchdown, and we made maybe a couple more, but then we locked it down. It took a big effort by our defense to hold them down. On that last play, after Coach called a timeout, we knew it would be really hard because their quarterback is such a challenge. But we locked up on the outside, we trusted our pass rushers, and did what we needed to do.

“There’s a big rivalry between the two programs and we able to learn from what happened against them before (regular season 24-12 loss). It definitely feels sweeter to beat them in our own house.”