Kits Blank GBS, Advance To Flag Sectional Finals

When Evanston’s flag football team lost the services of two outstanding defensive players --- Payton King and Nyel Rollins --- to injuries during the regular season, head coach Carlton Rosemond was forced to dip into the junior varsity ranks to find some replacements.

Rosemond hasn’t regretted those moves for a single minute.

Freshman defensive backs Harper Wesenberg and Ella Martin each snatched a pair of interceptions Tuesday night against Glenbrook South in the Lane Tech 2 Sectional tournament semifinals and lifted the Wildkits into the sectional championship game with a 14-0 shutout win at Rockne Stadium in Chicago.

Quarterback Maggie Conforti threw a pair of touchdown passes as Evanston (16-8) earned the right to meet top-seeded Chicago Taft in the title game Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Taft, now 23-3, eliminated New Trier with a 12-0 triumph in the other semifinal.

Proud as he can be of the fact that, unlike many other programs in the first year of Illinois High School Association-sponsored competition in the state, Evanston has more than one playmaker on offense, Rosemond is even prouder of his defensive unit.

The coach’s daughter, KyNia Hunt, is a ballhawk at cornerback who already has 10 interceptions this season and is a legitimate All-State candidate as a two-way player. But the defense can also lean on more than one playmaker when necessary.

Wesenberg and Martin certainly filled that role Tuesday in chilly conditions as ETHS stifled a GBS squad they lost to twice during the regular season. In fact, the Kits have scored the program’s first wins over both Maine South and GBS in the past week after going 0-for-4 against their two rivals during last year’s inaugural season as a club sport, too.

“There’s not another team in the state that starts two freshmen you can trust like that on defense,” Rosemond said. “They shut the door on GBS in the second half tonight. For them to step up and be as effective as they were tonight was just great.

“South’s game plan was obviously not to throw the ball anywhere near KyNia (Hunt) because she’s such a ballhawk. But we have more than one playmaker on defense, too.”

Wesenberg, who starts on both sides of the ball, came up to the varsity earlier than Martin. Rosemond was reluctant to move Martin up because he didn’t want to deprive the JV team of their starting quarterback, but the move paid off and now the defense is even stingier than it was in the first half of the season.

Martin’s two picks Tuesday were her first of the season.

“I really trust those freshmen back there,” said Rosemond. “I knew how special they were right from the start, but I wanted them to get a chance to play against girls their age or a year older and gain some confidence. The way they dominated at that level, it was just a matter of time before they came up to the varsity.

“When Payton went down (with a knee injury) we needed another safety. Ella’s attention to detail is really something and she really understands the game. She’s just a smart player, and so is Harper. We’re not here (in the sectional finals) without them.”

Wesenberg’s first interception might turn out the biggest defensive play of the season, depending on how much deeper the Wildkits can dive into the IHSA state playoffs. Conforti hooked up with senior Rachel Durango-Cohen for a 29-yard scoring play midway through the first half, but the Titans were knocking on the door after marching from their own 28 to the ETHS 18 with less than a minute to play.

That’s when Wesenberg ended the threat, stealing a pass from South quarterback Jackie Addesso (14-of-29 passing with four interceptions, for 148 yards) with 31 seconds left in the half.

“That play showed me that Harper was really paying attention,” praised the ETHS head coach. “Earlier in the half she let that girl get past her, even though they didn’t get a completion, and I kept telling her don’t fall for that double move, because they’re not fast enough to beat you otherwise.

“That was an up and out pattern and she just sat on it and made the play on the ball. That was a big play. I knew if our defense stayed disciplined tonight we could beat them.”

Conforti (12-of-22 passing for 116 and 2 interceptions) drove the Wildkits to an insurance score on their second drive of the second half. The drive started with a shovel pass to senior Hannah Honore, who burst 22 yards through the South defense. Two plays later the junior quarterback found Hunt for an 11-yard TD pass, and also connected with Hunt for the PAT pass.

Sophomore Brielle Rosemond chased down South’s Mack Lathrop after a 51-yard catch-and-run play for the losers to preserve the shutout, grabbing the flag off her hip at the Evanston 28. Two plays later, Martin’s theft sealed the seventh straight win for the Kit girls.