Kits Breeze In Opener After Taking Out The Trash

It didn’t take long for the Zion-Benton football team to start trash talking Friday night in the 2024 season opener.

But Evanston offered the perfect response --- the silent treatment and 41 unanswered points.

The Wildkits overcame a slow start and throttled the Zee-Bees by a 41-20 margin in a contentious non-conference matchup as four different ETHS players scored rushing touchdowns.

Trash talking on both sides resulted in offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on four different occasions in the first half. But it reached its height --- or maybe a new low --- when a Zion-Benton player directed some hate speech at Evanston’s trainer on the sidelines.

That player was ejected in the final minute of the first half, after Evanston had bounced back from a 12-0 deficit for a 21-12 edge at halftime.

Welcome to life on the road. The Wildkits certainly learned how to deal with a hostile atmosphere in their 2024 debut and that could pay dividends in September and October, considering that they’ll play four more road games during the regular season.

And if they get contributions going forward from as many players as happened Friday night, there might be a state playoff game on the road in their future, too.

Quarterback Colin Livatino threw one touchdown pass and also ran for a score, Mike Pryor contributed TD runs of 12 and 8 yards, and Enijel Shelton’s game-high 113 yards on 15 carries also included a 3-yard scoring run.

“I learned a long time ago to let your play do your talking for you,” said Evanston head coach Mike Burzawa. “That was a sloppy and long first half and you can’t have trash talking like that. Both sides were undisciplined and we addressed it at halftime with our kids.

“There were a lot of positives for us tonight, especially the way we dominated the second and third quarters. We had quite the bizarre start --- Zion-Benton had a few big plays right off the bat --- but there was no panic. They kept a positive attitude, and after that we just relied on the fundamentals and executed well. I’m proud of how we responded.”

The hosts marched 65 yards in 10 plays to start the game and climaxed that drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Ramar Hudson to Rmoni Beals. Just five plays later, Livatino was pressured in the pocket and heaved an interception to Zion’s Kendall Wallace, who returned it 44 yards for a TD.

But it was all Evanston after that.

Shelton’s 35-yard scamper set up a 12-yard burst to the end zone by his buddy in the backfield, Pryor, and after a bad center snap --- one of three on the night for the home team --- Shelton scored his first touchdown of the season from the 3.

On Evanston’s next possession, Livatino got that TD back when he hooked up with Ryan Wambo for an 18-yard scoring play on a wide receiver screen.

The visitors kept that momentum in the second half, scoring on short runs by Pryor (8 yards) and Livatino (1 yard) in the third quarter. Backup running back Tyree Inniss also found the end zone on a 7-yard run.

Livatino completed 8-of-13 passes for 150 yards to go with the 159 rushing yards chalked up behind a strong performance from the ETHS offensive line, including tight end Sam Shure.

“We were able to stay disciplined and push people around,” noted Burzawa. “Our offensive line created a lot of movement and the running backs ran hard. The defense settled in and got some stops after the first quarter, too. That’s why the second and third quarters were ours.”

Evanston will play its home opener September 6th against Saint Laurence. The Vikings buried Noble Academy 72-8 in another Friday night rout.