Kit Girls Turn Up The Heat In Flag Romp

You don’t replace one of the top pass rushers in flag football in the state of Illinois when she’s on the shelf with an injury with just one person.

Yet so far Evanston’s thriving on defense, even with senior Camille Calixte sidelined by a thumb injury. The Wildkits recorded 8 quarterback sacks --- from 4 different players --- on Friday night as they turned up the heat on Niles North in a 39-0 running clock victory at Lazier Field.

Evanston improved to 2-0 in Central Suburban League play and 4-0 overall. The Wildkits face their biggest tests of the young season on Saturday at Maine South, where they’ll face defending state (and conference) champion Maine South and once-beaten Lincoln-Way East in a doubleheader.

The loss of Calixte was a big hit to absorb for a team that has set its sights on an Illinois High School Association state championship this fall. And a knee issue that only has senior Nikki Dandelles available at that critical pass rush position on a day-to-day basis has forced ETHS coach Carlton Rosemond to dig into his bench and rush the passer by committee.

Calixte was so skilled at it that often she was the only rusher the Kits needed to harass quarterbacks last year. Now, they usually line up two rushers seeking sacks instead of one.

Friday, the Wildkits hounded North quarterback Molly O’Hara on every snap, with Dandelles, senior Emma Reese, senior Mikayla Sewell and junior Astou Cissokho all getting to her and yanking flags for losses in the rout.

O’Hara, a good athlete with escapability compared to most flag QBs, did finish with a total of 17 rushes for 45 yards. But she was limited to 79 yards passing (and an interception by Ella Martin) and only completed 11-of-24 tries in the air.

On the Evanston side, sophomore quarterback Ava Bellis threw for a career-high 5 TDs and also ran for a score. Bellis connected with Brielle Rosemond (68 yards and 24 yards), Katie Lindsay-Ryan (2 yards), KyNia Hunt (12 yards), and Harper Wesenberg (3 yards) in the first half for scores, then tallied herself in the second half with a 1-yard dash following Martin’s pick in the fourth quarter.

Bellis completed 16-of-23 passes overall for 243 yards for the winners.

“We played a complete game on offense and defense tonight,” Rosemond praised. “I thought Ava was surgical out there and if people (opponents) don’t know about her by now --- well, they should.

“We’re 4-0 now but we haven’t done anything yet. We have two big games tomorrow and that will be the real test for us.”

The Evanston coach was quick to point out that his team’s defensive effort came against one of the better quarterbacks the Wildkits will face this fall.

“That’s no ordinary quarterback we beat tonight,” Rosemond said. “She’s gotten some national recognition (in summer play), was the MVP of the Select Bowl and we didn’t take her lightly.

“If we’re up against a quarterback who can use her legs as good as she can, we have to contain her the best we can. That’s why you need to double rush sometimes. It depends who you’re playing game by game.

“Emma Reese (4 sacks) is our Swiss Army knife out there. She’s not trying to be another Camille, she just wants to be Emma. She’s electric on offense and she’s electric on defense, and she can play multiple possessions.”