Wildkit Girls Chasing Return Trip To Elite Eight

The main question surrounding the fledgling girls flag football program at Evanston goes back to last season.

Is there a hangover effect for the Wildkits after they suffered a last-minute loss to eventual state champion Fremd in the Illinois High School Association state quarterfinals? Or can they point with pride to reaching the Elite Eight and build on that as an accomplishment?

Ask head coach Carlton Rosemond and he’ll describe the upcoming 2025 season, which starts Monday night at Niles North, in two words.

Unfinished business.

Most of the starters on both sides of the ball are back for the Wildkits, who finished 17-9 and reeled off eight consecutive victories in the second half of the 2024 season before bowing to Fremd 20-13 on a 52-yard bomb with 45 seconds left in the game.

The growth of the sport for girls from last year to this year hasn’t been measured yet and many of the programs the Wildkits played against in 2024 were just getting their feet wet in a sport that Rosemond himself has competed in and officiated for more than a decade.

The competition should be stiffer this time around, although Rosemond and his players are eager to embrace any challenge in 2025. The ETHS coach even scheduled Fremd (September 12th in Palatine) among the eight new teams they added to the calendar this fall.

“We’ll play one of the toughest schedules in the state this year,” Rosemond proclaimed. “We’re going to play as many top level teams as we can, because we’ll be better off at the end of the season if we do that. My philosophy is that the regular season is for reps (repetitions) for you to see where you need to get better.

“Fremd actually called us (about scheduling a game) and it is an opportunity for some payback. The next step for us as a team is to try to take care of unfinished business (by capturing the state title). A lot of our girls have worked hard in the off-season and in the summer putting their energy and their effort into putting us in a position to go after what we didn’t get last year.

“We want to win that last game --- and hold up that trophy.”

Rosemond’s daughters, juniors KyNia Hunt and Brielle Rosemond, are impact players on both sides of the ball and still have no ceiling talent-wise as pass catchers and pass defenders. Both are dynamic playmakers and were selected to the all-conference team last year. They lead a group of veterans returning along with senior quarterback Maggie Conforti, sophomore safeties Ella Martin and Harper Wesenberg, junior center Katie Lindsay-Ryan and junior pass rusher Camille Calixte.

Evanston’s focus on the fundamentals right from the start of preseason practice a year ago built the foundation for one of the best defenses in the state of Illinois by season’s end. The Kits were also adept at getting early leads in games and working the running clock effectively while building on those leads, especially in the second half of the season.

“Tackling” really means pulling out flags in the girls 7-on-7 touch football version of the sport --- which doesn’t permit much physical contact --- and almost no one did it better than last year’s squad. Tackling techniques were a priority from Day 1 and Rosemond expects that area of the game to be one of his team’s strengths if they’re going to make another trip to the Elite Eight.

“I’d give us a B minus for the way we tackled last year,” said the ETHS coach. “The name of the game is pulling flags and we teach that every day in practice. We did well last year, don’t get me wrong, but I did feel we could have been better tackling in open spaces. There’s always room for growth.

“I honestly think we have more depth on the defensive side of the ball this year. We’ll have a ton of speed on the field, especially at linebacker, and that’s one big difference from last year. We’re probably at least eight deep at linebacker and we have so much depth that everyone is going to have to work hard to earn playing time.”

Rosemond raved about the potential of sophomore Kiernan Kasprzycki and junior Emma Reese as linebacker prospects, and they figure to be in the mix among Evanston’s top tacklers along with fellow linebackers Adaoma Udoku, a junior; Mikayla Sewell, a junior; and Riley Watt, the only other senior on the roster besides three-year starter Conforti.

Both Martin and Wesenberg were promoted to the varsity at mid-season when Payton King suffered a season-ending injury and performed like veterans at safety. Wesenberg might also see some playing time at linebacker this time around.

A change in the rules allowing blitzes will definitely have an impact on the Wildkits in 2025. Calixte thrived with quarterback sacks and forced incompletions in the 2024 scenario where the rules said potential pass rushers had to line up 7 yards from the line of scrimmage before taking after the quarterback.

Now the IHSA has changed that rule and rushers need only be 1 yard off the ball when the play starts.

“I will go to the mountaintop and say that Camille Calixte is one of the best pass rushers in the state,” said Rosemond. “And now we’ve added Nikki Dandelles (up from the JV team), who is also a very, very effective pass rusher. They’re going to create a lot of chaos out there.”

The change also means that Conforti will have to deal with more pressure when she lines up to pass. She came on strong in the second half of the 2024 campaign, and passed for two touchdowns and 222 yards in that Elite Eight game versus Fremd, but at times had trouble dealing with rushers even though no actual tackling takes place.

“We may have to come up with a way to screen those girls who are rushing directly (no actual blocking is permitted),” added Rosemond. “On the offensive side of the ball, we’re just looking for them to be themselves. They’ve proven they can play at a high level. The next step for us on offense is to play consistent from start to finish. We showed that we could do that at the end of last year.

“If we play to our identity, I think we’re the best team in the state.”