Every quarterback growing up in Evanston dreams of one day kneeling in that V (for victory) formation against New Trier at the end of a high school varsity football game.
Right now Colin Livatino is 2-for-2.
Livatino brought the Trevians to THEIR knees for the second year a row Friday night with one of the best --- if not the best --- performances ever for an ETHS quarterback in the long history of the head-to-head rivalry. He threw four touchdown passes and also ran for a score as the Wildkits drilled New Trier 40-20 in Northfield and halted a four-game losing skid.
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The Wildkits achieved their first road victory in the rivalry since way back in 2010 and improved to 2-4 on the season, 1-1 in Central Suburban League South division play. They stretched their lead in the all-time series with their 57th win to 53 for New Trier. The two programs have tied six times.
New Trier stumbled to 1-5 and 0-2 and still hasn’t figured out a way to beat Livatino.
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The senior signal-caller completed 9-of-15 passes for a whopping 316 yards and also ran for 85 yards on 10 carries for the winners, before being knocked out of the game briefly in the fourth quarter when a New Trier player whacked him in the head out of bounds for a personal foul penalty.
He did get to come back for the last two snaps of the game --- and no ETHS QB has ever been happier to take a knee.
Now, his reputation as a New Trier killer is complete. His last-minute screen pass that went for a TD to Demarion Timberlake also accounted for the game-winning score as a junior.
Friday, he launched scoring passes to sophomore speedster Justin Johnson (76 and 80 yards), senior Enijel Shelton (31 yards) and senior Dallas Amos (11 yards) while also rambling 38 yards on a quarterback draw play in the second quarter.
Backup quarterback Daryl Harmon ran for a 14-yard touchdown while Livatino was being looked at on the sidelines and Shelton carried 23 times for 115 yards as the Wildkits finally found a way to win a game that was still close in the fourth quarter.
“It’s always great to beat New Trier. It’s always fun!” Livatino exclaimed. “I’ve only missed one of these games (as a fan) at home and that’s because it’s the best rivalry around. I missed two days of practice this week (because of a thumb injury on his passing hand) but right now I feel great. I think I’m back to 100 percent.
“My offensive line has been great all year at giving me protection and I only had to leave the pocket a couple of times tonight. I got hit hard --- and late --- on that one play, but it’s all good now.”
Head coach Mike Burzawa almost couldn’t remember the last time one of his teams topped the Trevians on the road.
“I think that (2010) was my third year as coach here,” Burzawa recalled. “This is the oldest rivalry in the state and the kids know how important this is to the community and to our alumni. We’ve had a lot of heartbreaking losses on this field so it’s fantastic for these kids to get this win tonight.
“We’ve been knocking on the door with close losses the last three weeks and tonight we were able to bust that door down. We did a good job of finishing at the end, and I’m very proud of them for that.”
Evanston trailed 3-0 as New Trier’s sensational kicker --- senior Niki Dugandzic --- booted a 51-yard field goal on the hosts’ first possession of the contest. He later missed a 52-yarder, which had the distance but was wide left, and also connected from 25 yards out.
New Trier quarterback Patrick Heneghan added scoring strikes to Ben Zieziula (5 yards) and Will Miller (9 yards) as part of a short passing attack that tried to make up for the lack of an effective running game. Heneghan did completed 19-of-41 attempts, for just 201 yards, and only four of those completions traveled more than 10 yards.
On the ground, the losers were limited to 82 yards overall.
Livatino dialed long distance to Johnson for the first two Evanston scores and the Trevians --- and the rest of the conference --- should probably get used to seeing the back of Johnson’s No. 17 jersey. He burst on the varsity scene as a freshman by winning the 50-yard dash at the CSL South indoor track championships and flashed that game-changing speed again Friday.
The second score, covering 80 yards, came on an audible that reflected both Johnson’s speed and Livatino’s growth as a quarterback.
“I’ve always said that Colin’s greatest asset is his mind,” Burzawa praised. “When you have a quarterback like that, who makes good decisions and can extend plays, that’s a huge advantage at every level of football. He’s always done that very well and to see him play that way tonight was really special. He can make great decisions late based on what the defense is doing, and he was fantastic tonight.
“Justin (who also starts at defensive back) has got his confidence back now, I think. It’s never easy to be a sophomore up on the varsity, because of the expectations, but he’s a playmaker and he had a great week of practice and he played with a lot more confidence tonight. He’s a fantastic young man, with a bright future.”
Livatino had piled up 251 yards through the air by halftime, leading the visitors to a 27-13 advantage at the intermission. His third TD pass of the half came on a broken play, as he bought time and improvised a 31-yarder to Shelton in the end zone.
Evanston leaned on the running game for most of the second half as Shelton piled up yards behind new starter Jeremy Marshall --- who replaced Towan Jackson at left guard --- and tackle Owen McElhatton.
New Trier chewed up almost half of the third quarter clock with a scoring drive and pulled to within 27-20 with 7:36 left in the period. But Evanston responded with a 15-play, 80-yard march to paydirt as Livatino eventually found Amos in the left corner of the end zone.
Evanston next faces a short week of preparation as Deerfield will visit Lazier Field next Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
