Wildkit Girls Claim Third Straight Regional Title

Brielle Rosemond couldn’t have picked a better time for her first interception of the flag football season.

The Evanston senior standout’s interception in the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter snatched hope away from host New Trier and the Wildkits captured their third straight regional championship with a 19-0 victory at Robert Naughton Field Wednesday.

The Kits blanked the Trevians for the second time this season and punched a ticket to the Evanston Sectional tournament semifinals. Evanston will take a 16-2 record into Saturday’s semifinal matchup with Taft at noon at Lazier Field. Taft (15-3) defeated Resurrection 33-6 in the regional title game at Chicago Academy.

Maine South (15-6) will meet Lane Tech (12-5) in the other sectional semi Saturday at 10 a.m. The championship game is set for next Monday at 7 p.m.

Rosemond racked up 105 pass receptions during the regular season and is more known for her pass-catching ability than her defense. But her father, ETHS head coach Carlton Rosemond, often inserts her at cornerback when the matchup might favor the Wildkits.

She almost got caught out of position --- on the sidelines resting --- before she pulled off her biggest defensive play of the season.

Evanston held a 13-0 lead when the teams switched ends of the field to start the final period. But the Kits were caught napping when play was about to resume and Coach Rosemond had to call a timeout so he could replace cornerback Vanessa Alonzo with Brie.

Brie Rosemond lined up opposite the intended receiver, New Trier’s Kathleen Ellis, and intercepted Lila Byrne’s pass at the goal line to keep the shutout intact.

A score might have given the Trevians the lift they needed for a comeback, especially since they didn’t score against the Kits during the regular season (25-0 Evanston win).

But Rosemond wouldn’t let it happen.

“Things kind of got lost in the shuffle when we switched sides at the end of the quarter,” said Carlton Rosemond. “Brie is a great two-way player and I do give her some spells on defense when I know we need her. I trust her a lot. She’s a phenomenal offensive player --- but she’s a good defensive player, too.

“The issue was that they were ready to start play again and I didn’t see what New Trier’s alignment was, so I could make the switch. Vanessa is a good defensive player but she can’t help the fact that she’s only 5 feet tall. Most teams look to isolate their bigger receivers against Vanessa, and that’s why we send Brie in for a better matchup. That’s what our counter move is --- sometimes with Harper (Wesenberg), too --- and then we just feel like go ahead and play. We’re confident when we have those matchups.”

Brie Rosemond didn’t let the confusion get into her own head.

“On the play, I just turned and my body reacted. I just knew I couldn’t let her get it,” said the ETHS senior. “It just feels great to win the regional. We knew we could do it. We can make it all the way (state championship) as long as we play our game.

Rosemond also did her part on offense. She grabbed 7 passes for 103 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown catch, as the Wildkit offense heated up once sophomore quarterback Ava Bellis started targeting Rosemond and her sister, KyNia Hunt, in the second quarter.

Evanston scored a pair of touchdowns in the final 2 minutes, 9 seconds off the first half and New Trier’s lackluster offense never posed much of a threat after that.

Bellis (27-of-39 passing for 301 yards) is closing in on the single season school record for TD passes, adding three more Wednesday with hook-ups to Rosemond, Katie Lindsay-Ryan (6 yards) and Hunt (30 yards).

New Trier quarterback Byrne completed 22-of-31 passes, but mustered just 131 yards, rarely testing the ETHS secondary beyond 15 yards. The Trevians (8-9) tried 12 running plays for a net gain of 45 yards on the ground.

Evanston’s offense finally shifted into high gear after turning the ball over twice on downs on the first two possessions. New Trier’s gamble on a fourth down pass at the ETHS 42 backfired when safety Ella Martin broke up a Byrne pass intended for Annabel Nitekman.

Four plays later, Bellis found Rosemond for a 1-yard score and she also converted the PAT pass to Hunt.

Following a subsequent Trevian punt, the Kits marched 43 yards in just four plays to boost the lead to two scores. Bellis completed a 19-yarder to Hunt to set up a 6-yard TD toss to Lindsay-Ryan for a 13-0 halftime advantage.

As the clock ticked down at the end of the third quarter, both teams turned the ball over on downs. When New Trier got the ball back at the Evanston 40, the Trevs used a succession of short completions --- plus a pass interference call --- and penetrated all the way to the 10.

Then Rosemond’s pick on third down sealed the victory. Bellis connected with Hunt on a third down slant pattern for the final margin.

“We didn’t make it easy on ourselves on defense today,” noted the Evanston coach. “We are usually a very stingy defense and today their mindset seemed to be (playing) more safe than sorry. But that’s OK. They’ve stepped up for us all year.

“On offense, it took us some time to figure things out about the way New Trier was reacting. It was a slow start for the offense --- don’t put it on Ava, though. She’s playing beyond her years for us as a sophomore on a senior-heavy team. She just doesn’t get phased out there.”