Gant Rallies Wildkits With Late TD Strike

T.J. Gant wasn’t happy about it when he found out he wouldn’t be Evanston’s starting quarterback for Week 2 of the football season.

But Gant also knew his number would get called again.

The Wildkit junior supplied a storybook ending for Evanston’s home opener Friday night when he came off the bench and threw a game-winning pass to Justin Johnson with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left against Palatine.

Gant hit Johnson with a 40-yard TD strike and two of his classmates --- Lewis Scott and Kit Bevan --- turned in big plays on defense to clinch a 14-13 victory and lift ETHS to 2-0 on the season.

Senior Aiden Payne, who was a wide receiver last year after playing quarterback on the lower levels as a freshman and sophomore, emerged as the starter as ETHS head coach Miles Osei decided to pound and ground the Pirates with a running attack this week.

Payne presents a better running threat from the position than Gant and carried 20 times for 72 yards Friday night, including a 9-yard touchdown run in the first half. But when the senior turned the ball over three times in the second half --- via two interceptions and a lost fumble --- it was Gant’s turn again.

Ironically, he entered the contest just moments after some chants of “We want T.J.” from the restless near-capacity crowd.

“Yes, I heard them, but I didn’t pay any attention to that,” Gant said. “When I found out Tuesday that I wasn’t playing, I took that to heart. I think any player would. But whatever’s good for the team and the program is what I’m willing to do even if it means being on the bench. I’ll do whatever it takes for us to get a win.”

Gant fooled the Pirate defense by taking the shotgun snap and leaning forward as if he wanted to run, then took a step back and launched a perfect 40-yard strike while the speedy Johnson split the middle of the defense.

“We call that play Quarterback Cheetah. We fake the run and we want to make sure no one in the offensive line gets downfield. Justin definitely helped me out on that one. He did all the work, and the offensive line did a great job and made it possible.

“All I did was throw it.”

Gant shared the hero’s role with Scott and Bevan. Scott, a member of the boys state championship track team, chased down Palatine’s Chase Klipowicz on the subsequent kickoff return and saved a certain touchdown with a last man tackle at the ETHS 19.

Palatine never did get into the end zone and a pair of penalties pushed them far enough backward that freshman placekicker Blake Haas --- who earlier kicked a pair of field goals from 23 and 24 yards --- never got an opportunity to boot a game-winner.

Bevan intercepted Palatine’s last gasp pass on fourth down inside his own 5 to seal the improbable victory. The Wildkits had lost all five previous matchups with Palatine since 2017 when the Central Suburban League and Mid-Suburban League first agreed to schedule non-conference games against each other on a regular basis.

Scott is one of several Wildkit gridders who also play other sports and Osei embraces the philosophy that playing multiple sports benefits everyone involved.

“I just put all of my speed into it to get him,” said Scott, who has likely faced that similar come-from-behind scenario in a relay race or two in his track career. “It’s all about stamina. Do you really want to catch that dude? I just got motivated and got him.”

“Most track guys play other sports and I’ll continue to encourage that,” said Osei. “We were in so many adverse situations like that, so many times when they could have folded --- and didn’t.

“T.J. came through in crunch time and it was awesome to see him pick up Aiden like that. It was a fun game to watch with the way the kids performed and really stuck in there. Both quarterbacks are pushing each other every day in practice and I hope it’s a competition (for the starting job) all the way through the season. I thought both quarterbacks did a good job tonight.”

Those fourth quarter heroics were necessary because Evanston’s offense took backward steps in the second half while nursing a 7-3 halftime advantage. Turnovers and penalties (8 for 75 yards) had the hosts back on their heels before crunch time came.

Two key defensive stops kept ETHS hopes alive. The Pirates were driving and reached the Evanston 35 in the third quarter when Josh Olivier and Levi Maman combined to stop Klipowicz on a 4^th-and-1 carry.

Palatine picked off an Aiden pass and broke out to a 10-7 lead two plays later when quarterback Brandon Martino (12-of-21 passing for 88 yards) tossed a 21-yard TD to Brennan Wright.

Another interception led to another opportunity for the visitors in the fourth quarter. The Kit defense stiffened, though, and limited the losers to a successful field goal attempt by Haas with 7:08 left on the clock.

Gant led the hosts on the game winning drive, which covered 70 yards in six plays, and junior Nick Jackson booted what turned out to be the decisive extra points.

Sean Hopson paced ETHS with 16 carries for 97 yards, most of them in the first half. The Pirates, now 1-1 on the season, racked up 125 yards on the ground.

Evanston hosts Maine East next Friday at Lazier Field.