Hungry Hunt Leads Kit Girls To 10th Flag Victory

KyNia Hunt wears a protective headband that says “Feed Me” for every flag football game she plays.

But don’t get the idea that the Evanston junior is some kind of diva who tends to pout when the ball isn’t thrown her way often enough.

It’s just Hunt’s way of branding herself for social media – that’s her hashtag --- and she proved once again Saturday afternoon that she doesn’t need a lot of touches to make an impact on both sides of the ball.

Hunt scored on four of the six touches she had on offense --- receiving touchdowns of 75 and 45 yards, a 63-yard TD run and a PAT catch --- and helped the Wildkits score their 10th win of the season by a 20-8 margin over Buffalo Grove.

And if that doesn’t make her one of the best two-way players in the state of Illinois, it certainly makes her one of the most efficient.

Just don’t get the idea that she’s that selfish. Hashtags can be misleading and accurate, both at the same time.

“I made that hashtag for myself playing travel ball this summer, because people seem to associate me with getting a lot of picks (interceptions) and touchdowns,” Hunt explained. “But for me, the main thing isn’t just scoring touchdowns. I know I don’t have to score a touchdown to have a good game. I’m also out there to help others get open.

“Last year I was worn out by the end of the year playing both offense and defense (she also starts at safety). This year I wanted to play a little less on offense so that won’t happen again. Safety is my No. 1 spot, and anyway, we have a lot of other good receivers. Usually I just sub out so they can make the plays at receiver.”

Hunt has already built an All-State resume in a sport that is still in its infancy and doesn’t have the “experts” (or coaches statewide) to pick an official squad recognizing the state’s elite. So far this season, she’s rushed for more than 135 yards, has piled up more than 650 receiving yards with eight TD catches, and leads the team in interceptions with 11, including three pick sixes for scores.

She also ranks among her team’s top defenders with more than 50 flag pulls for ETHS, which improved to 10-1 with Saturday’s victory.

Hunt’s combination of flat-out speed and ability to elude would-be tacklers makes her a threat to score any time --- and any way --- she gets the ball in the open field, according to her proud father (and ETHS head coach) Carlton Rosemond.

He’s not sure about the diva part --- father-daughter relationships can be complicated --- but he knows the Wildkits wouldn’t be among the top contenders to win the 2025 Illinois High School Association state championship without her contributions on offense and on defense.

Saturday’s contest marked the last time Evanston would have a chance to make a statement to coaches who will do the sectional tournament seeding next week and the Kits delivered a dominating defensive effort to go with Hunt’s heroics on offense.

“KyNia’s having an All-State type of year,” Rosemond said. “She’s a gamer who can do whatever needs to be done for us to win. She understands the moment, and it’s never too big for her. She knows that when the ball needs to get to her, she’ll get it, and she’ll make the plays that need to be made.

“Every receiver wants the ball at some point but we’ve made it a point to try to mix in everyone (as potential pass catchers) to keep the defenses honest so they can’t focus on one player. She only averages 2-3 catches a game --- but she makes the most of those moments. She can turn a 5-yard gain into a 95-yard touchdown.”

Hunt helped the Wildkits overcome another sluggish start on offense Saturday against a Buffalo Grove team (6-10 overall) that probably would have been shut out except for Rosemond’s decision not to punt with the visitors nursing a 14-0 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Maggie Conforti (12-of-23 passing for 226 yards) misfired on a fourth down pass that turned the ball over on downs at the Evanston 29, and the Bison scored six plays later on a 3-yard pass from Leah Hampton to Olivia Irwin with 5 minutes, 36 seconds left in the game. A successful PAT pass cut the deficit down to 14-8.

But the hosts couldn’t get a stop. Instead, Hunt answered by grabbing a Conforti pass and racing 45 yards to the end zone --- dodging tacklers left and right on her journey --- to clinch the win with 1:30 left on the clock.

Hunt and Conforti hooked up on a 75-yard bomb in the first quarter, when the quarterback escaped a sack attempt to keep the play alive, and Hunt dashed 63 yards on an inside reverse just before halftime to boost the Kits to a 14-0 advantage.

“I really didn’t expect to get all of those yards on any of those plays,” Hunt said. “I didn’t expect to get through all of those defenders. On that last one, it was important that we get another score.”

“At that point I felt it was really unfair to the defense (if Evanston had punted) to tell them they had to get another stop for us to win the game,” Rosemond explained. “I wanted to help get Maggie (Conforti) in some kind of flow, because she was really off again today.”

Evanston’s defense limited Buffalo Grove quarterback Hampton to 85 yards in the air. She completed 16-of-26 attempts, but only two of those completions went for more than 10 yards. Brielle Rosemond intercepted a pass for the winners at the start of the fourth period and the losers only got into the red zone (inside the 20) once.