Ever since Mike Burzawa took over as head coach of the Evanston football program, the Wildkits have usually put their best foot forward in the home opener.
But the Wildkits stumbled badly Friday night before another packed house at Lazier Field.
Unable to do much right on either side of the ball, Evanston was overrun by St. Laurence in a 42-7 decision that wasn’t close. The Wildkits fell to 1-1 on the season after surrendering 368 yards rushing to the visiting Vikings in the first-ever matchup between the two programs.
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It’s just the second time since 2013 that the Kits have lost the “Hall of Fame” game, designated as such because it also coincides with recognition for the latest individuals and teams honored with selection to the ETHS athletic Hall of Fame.
You couldn’t blame Burzawa if he turned for advice from the members of the 1966 HOF football squad who were honored at halftime. Missed tackles by the defense helped St. Laurence roll to a 21-0 advantage in the first quarter, and the offense only avoided a shutout when backup quarterback Daryl Harmon ran for a 2-yard score with 9 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game.
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Burzawa won’t enjoy his time in the film room dissecting this defeat.
“It’s a disappointing loss, but now we’ve got to move on,” said the Evanston coach. “We didn’t execute tonight and that’s on me as the coach. Now we’ll have to evaluate everything to see where we are.
“St. Laurence was stronger and controlled the line of scrimmage, and that was the difference tonight. From a physicality standpoint, they took it right to us in that first quarter. We couldn’t get out of that first quarter. It was a disappointing night, because we’ve had a lot of success in the past in these Hall of Fame games. Usually, we thrive on it.”
St. Laurence quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski racked up 137 yards rushing on 11 attempts, and also threw a touchdown pass, while running back Harley Rizzs’ 104 yards on 18 carries included TD runs of 38, 2 and 3 yards. Most of their yardage came after running right through attempted tackles near the line of scrimmage.
Evanston only mustered 17 yards on the ground as a team. Starting quarterback Colin Livatino connected on just 3-of-12 passing attempts for 9 yards before suffering an injury in the second quarter. He was unable to return, so Harmon took the controls on offense and hit 4-of-9 passes for 57 yards and one interception.
Harmon’s TD run trimmed the deficit to 28-7, and when Jace Meeks grabbed a Viking fumble and returned it to the Viking 41, the Wildkits had another chance to cut into the lead. But three plays later, Harmon threw an interception that St. Laurence’s Joey Philip ran back to the ETHS 3-yard line. Rizzs had no trouble scoring from there.
Evanston resumes action next Friday night on the road at Palatine.
