Evanston coach Carlton Rosemond felt compelled to rein in his young flag football secondary early in the 2024 season so they wouldn’t be so obsessed with trying to grab interceptions on every play.
But KyNia Hunt’s instincts took over just when the Wildkits needed her most Wednesday night at Lazier Field.
The coach’s daughter returned an interception 40 yards for the game-winning score with five minutes remaining to lift ETHS to a 12-8 triumph over arch-rival New Trier as the hosts swept the regular season home-and-home series with the Trevians.
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Hunt’s second pick of the game helped the Wildkits improve to 9-6 on the season and surpass last year’s victory total. ETHS moved to 5-4 in conference play while New Trier dropped to 7-7 and 2-5, respectively.
Hunt, a sophomore defensive back, broke perfectly on the ball launched by Trevian quarterback Vicky Wainscott (14-of-23 for 142 yards and one touchdown) as the visitors tried to protect an 8-6 lead. One more first down might have allowed New Trier to run out the clock and do just that --- until Hunt stepped into the spotlight.
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“The coaches are always telling us that if your girl is covered (by a teammate), go get the ball. I knew we needed a touchdown, and I knew that once she threw it, I had it. Our defense worked hard all night to keep New Trier on their side of the field,” Hunt said. “He got on me in our last game (against Maine South) when I didn’t get an interception I went after.
“This time, I snatched it.”
“KyNia’s a special athlete, and her instincts kicked in on that play,” said Rosemond. “She always plays hard and now she’s starting to use her brain, too. In the beginning of the year I had to settle her (and injured safety Payton King) down so they didn’t just go for picks on every play, so they’d knock passes down instead.
“Now KyNia is reading what the quarterback wants to do and seeing how the routes unfold for the receivers. She had an interception in her hands against Maine South, she missed it and the receiver caught it behind her and it ended up setting up a touchdown for them.
“I tell them if you go for it, you’ve gotta GET it. I’m glad she went for it.”
Hunt’s steal was especially sweet for her Dad, who found out this week that somehow New Trier was seeded ahead of the Wildkits for Illinois High School Association regional tournament play that begins in two weeks. Rosemond wasn’t necessarily irate about his squad’s No. 6 seed, but was mystified how one rival coach could rank New Trier No. 2 in the tourney field after the Wildkits whipped them 20-0 the first time the two teams played.
New Trier wound up with the No. 4 seed overall for the Lane Tech Regional behind Taft, Maine South and Prospect in the 20-team field.
“I guess the headline is that the Wildkits ‘upset’ the No. 4 seed. But that’s no No. 4 seed,” Rosemond said. “The voting process is the voting process, I guess. Nobody did us any favors. With six losses I guess we deserve to be where we are.”
ETHS turned in another stellar defensive performance even though two of the Kits’ top defenders didn’t suit up Wednesday. King isn’t expected to return from a knee injury and senior Nyel Rollins has a broken knuckle on her hand and hopes to return in time for the playoffs.
“We lost two great players so our focus on defense was that we had to step up,” Hunt explained. “Coach mentioned the seed situation yesterday and they (opposing coaches) acted like our 20-0 win over New Trier was nothing. It gave us even more adrenaline to play this game tonight.
“We’re a really good team and we’re ready to show out in the playoffs. You should be worried about us.”
New Trier opened the scoring in the first half when Wainscott connected on a pass to Hana Styles, who forced two missed tackles by the ETHS secondary and slipped into the end zone to complete a 23-yard scoring play on the visitors’ first possession. Wainscott then completed a PAT pass to Isabella Myung to make it 8-0.
Evanston answered with a 9-play scoring march as junior quarterback Maggie Conforti (14-of-23 for 113 yards) twice converted fourth down plays and flipped a 1-yard TD pass to freshman two-way standout Harper Wesenburg.
Conforti guided the home team on a time-consuming drive that stalled at the 1-yard line midway through the second half. She rolled out of the pocket and found Hunt for a 13-yard completion, down to the 1, but her 4th down aerial attempt sailed out of the end zone.
That set the stage for Hunt’s heroics. And the Kits sealed the deal when sophomore Camille Calixte, the designated pass rusher, sacked Wainscott on second down and then harassed the QB into a pair of incomplete passes.
