Minooka Knocks Kits Out With Second Half Rally

When Evanston’s football team earned a 21-7 lead early in the third quarter Friday night, there still wasn’t much buzz in the half-filled stands at Lazier Field.

Maybe ETHS fans knew what was coming --- again.

The Wildkits missed out on an opportunity to end a 23-year playoff drought and dropped a 35-21 decision to Minooka in the opening round of the Illinois High School Association Class 8A state playoffs.

Minooka, which wouldn’t have qualified for postseason play except for the fact that the IHSA expanded the field this year, pushed across two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and sent the Kits to the sidelines with a 5-5 record. The Indians will take a 5-5 record into next week’s game at Loyola Academy.

Evanston’s injury-depleted defense couldn’t stop a Minooka offense that only scored more than 14 points twice during the regular season. Indians’ running back Quinn Schiffbauer scored on a pair of 2-yard runs in the fourth quarter to make the difference.

Down four starters --- Justin Johnson, Amari Watson, Jordan Holmes, Nate Osayande --- on defense due to injuries, the Kits couldn’t cope with the season on the line. Two freshmen who were just promoted to the varsity this week, defensive back Grayson Nangle and linebacker Payton Goodnight-Taylor, played major minutes Friday night.

Second-year ETHS head coach Miles Osei refused to use those injuries as an excuse for another early exit from postseason play.

“Football is a unique game. You have to have everyone step up, not just four or five players,” Osei pointed out. “Right now we’re missing that (attitude). And our preparation (in practice) wasn’t where it was the week before this. We have a core group that understands every little detail matters, but it’s not enough.

“This group definitely took strides this year, but it’s the mentality stuff we have to dive into in the off-season. We’re still not even close to where we should be. Man, we’ve got a long way to go!

“It’s cultural. We needed to understand how we should respond for a playoff game after the high of the game last week (against New Trier). I think overall we were just satisfied to make the playoffs, even though our goal was to WIN a playoff game (for the first time since 2003). We have to get rid of that kind of complacency.”

Nangle, a 5-foot-11, 165-pounder who also has the potential to be an impact player for a loaded ETHS varsity basketball team this winter, filled in for Johnson on the defensive side with a solid performance in his varsity debut. He did yield a 62-yard touchdown pass from Minooka’s Nathan Danielson to Caleb Bizzotto in the third quarter while recording a half dozen tackles.

Senior Ray Owens-Fomond contributed a career night on offense in the absence of Johnson, who has played much of the season with a herniated disc in his back. Owens-Fomond grabbed 8 passes for 115 yards for the losers.

Senior quarterback Aiden Payne turned the ball over three times --- two interceptions and a fumble --- and finished with 159 yards passing, completing 12-of-28 attempts. His only completion over 13 yards was a 45-yard toss to Owens-Fomond that set up an 11-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Roseman for the first score of the game.

Minooka pulled even early in the second quarter as Schiffbauer plowed 3 yards for the first of his four touchdowns on the night. Evanston, however, responded with a 59-yard scoring drive in seven plays, capped by Kamryn Farlow’s 11-yard TD run out of the Wildcat formation.

A 32-yard kickoff return by Goodnight-Taylor to start the second half put ETHS in prime position to build on the lead, and the Kits did just that. Sean Hopson Jr. (20 carries for 96 yards) slashed into the end zone from the Minooka 5 with 9 minutes, 8 seconds left in the third quarter.

It was all downhill after that for the home team.

“We needed to do a better job defensively,” Osei acknowledged. “We had some penalties on third and long, once on a third and 16, and you can’t have that. It’s a discipline thing.

“We did have some guys in there on defense who were on the JV team two and a half weeks ago. Our kids are still learning. As coaches, now we have to instill in them the urgency to make even more progress.”