Playmakers Lift ETHS Girls To Flag Regional Title Game

Even the top teams seem to have one thing in common in the first season the Illinois High School Association has sponsored girls flag football.

Very few programs have more than one or two reliable pass catchers even if they have a talented quarterback at the helm.

But Evanston doesn’t need a single go-to player. The Wildkits have more than their share of playmakers, a fact they underlined again while making history Tuesday night at Lazier Field.

Five different players caught touchdown passes from junior quarterback Maggie Conforti in a 34-0 rout of Regina Dominican in the first round of the Evanston Regional tournament. It marked the first postseason win in school history for the Wildkits, who will meet once-beaten Maine South Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the regional title game.

Winner of the ETHS Regional will meet the Prospect Regional champion on October 15th at the Lane Tech Sectional.

Conforti completed 15-of-22 passing attempts for 263 yards against the Panthers, including touchdown passes to KyNia Hunt (41 yards), Hannah Honore (38 yards), Rachel Durando-Cohn (54 yards), Brielle Rosemond (14 yards) and Maya Forman (19 yards). Four of those scores came in the first half against the Panthers, who finished 5-8 on the season.

Evanston improved to 14-8 and will take a five-game winning streak into Wednesday’s championship showdown with the Hawks (19-1).

Conforti’s first three connections for scores fell into the “catch and run” category, where the receivers involved made short grabs and ran away from Regina defenders.

Honore dashed right up the middle without a defender laying a hand on her on her way to the end zone and that’s the kind of speed and elusiveness that will make the Wildkits, the No. 6 sectional seed, a difficult matchup for any enemy defense.

“We’re not asking our quarterback to throw 30-yard bombs. We have multiple players who can catch and run with those passes that are 5 to 10 yards (deep),” pointed out Evanston head coach Carlton Rosemond. “All the quarterback has to do is get them the ball.

“When you don’t have just one or two go-to players, that forces the defense to play more honest, and in a zone, they don’t have enough defenders to defend you. We just ask for those 5-10 yard throws so our athletes can do the work. We have to be able to use our speed, and our quickness, to beat other teams. Tonight, Hannah caught a 3-yard pass and turned it into a touchdown. KyNia caught a 10-yard corner and turned it into a 40-yard touchdowns.”

Evanston’s playmakers weren’t in evidence until the second half of their last two regular season games last week. The Wildkits trailed both Niles North and Resurrection 8-0 at halftime of those two games, before defeating the Vikings 12-6 and turning the tables on Res for a 15-14 win on Friday.

Maybe that served as a wake-up call for the “second season.”

“I liked the fact that we came in loose, and ready to play tonight,” Rosemond said. “We didn’t take anything for granted and we executed well on both offense and on defense.”

Evanston’s defense limited Regina junior quarterback Natalia Cerrado to just 10-of-22 passing for 95 yards and one interception. Hunt’s interception set up an ETHS score early in the second half.

The Wildkits will face a familiar foe in conference rival Maine South. The Hawks had their way with Evanston in the first two meetings with 20-6 and 20-0 victories.

“I still think it’s a good matchup for us against them,” Rosemond said. “I think it helped us that we had to struggle through those two games last week. We needed those tests because you have to win close games in the state tournament.”