Wildkits Football Ends Disappointing Season

By Michael O'Sullivan

 It has been a frustrating year for the ETHS football team. The last game of the year resembled the struggles of the Kits' entire season. The team showed flashes of great plays in the first-half and then struggled to do anything right in the third and fourth quarters. The final game of the year ended in disappointment, much like the season itself, for Coach Johnson and the team, as they lost to the Waukegan Bulldogs 41-17. The Kits' 1-8 record for the season is the worst in recent memory, and for the first time in the last decade, the Kits failed to win a single game at home.

Despite the disappointing season, the coaching staff still has plenty of hope for next year. "We are upset with the way the season panned out, but there is a lot of promise for this program," said Coach Johnson.  "We have a lot of pride here at Evanston and I know our coaching staff is going to work hard to turn things around for next season." 

Unfortunately for the senior players on the team, there will be no next season. "It really hurts knowing you have played your last football game," senior co-captain Danny Krugar said. "We wanted to have a better season, and I know all of us, especially the seniors, feel we should have won more football games. Even though we finished with one win, I still had a great time playing with these guys. I love all of them. I will always cherish every second I had playing high school football for Evanston Township High School."

Coach Johnson will miss all of his seniors and their leadership as they move on to life after high school. "All of my seniors showed tremendous leadership this season. They always played with heart and pride throughout the whole year, and that is not an easy thing to do when your record is not that good," he said.  "I think they had a lot of fun this season, despite the record, and I know they will miss playing here, just like I will miss them."

Johnson says he knows this season will not be an indicator for things to come. "There are many players that I feel confident with at many positions. We definitely are loaded with talent in my opinion for next season. Many of the juniors this year will be big contributors next year, and our freshmen and sophomores have shown great promise," he said. David Hirsch, who showed flashes of greatness this season, is expected to be the starting quarterback for the team next year. And Darrel Sheppard, who ran for over 200 yards against Waukegan, has proven he can be successful as an every-down back for next year's team.  

There will be a lot of questions going into next season for the football squad, but with a new season and new players comes great hope for things to come.

Football Field Named In Honor of Legendary Coach

The ETHS football field was named Lazier Field in honor of Murney Lazier, ETHS head football coach from 1957 to 1974. A dedication took place during halftime of the ETHS/Waukegan football game on Oct.20. Coach Lazier was surrounded on the field by his family and more than 100 former players who came in from around the country for the event.

In presenting the plaque to Coach Lazier Dr. Eric Witherspoon said, "We have in person today the winningest coach in the State of Illinois." He said Coach Lazier had a record of 125 wins, 17 losses and 4 ties. Under his reign, ETHS won 13 Suburban League titles and was declared Mythical State Football Champions by various newspaper services in 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1968, and 1971.

Emery Moorhead, who played under Coach Lazier and later for the Chicago Bears, said, "There is such a great turnout because we have such great respect for Coach Lazier…We want this field dedicated in his honor." He said the Coach had taught him and other players many valuable lessons.

Coach Lazier said, "I dedicate this field to these players and the players that come after them…I dedicate it to Evanston." He said it is time to bring the glory back to Evanston.

In a written statement, Coach Lazier said, "A coach has a big influence on a player's life. He must train a kid for college and life. That's part of the coach's job description. If he thinks it isn't, he's in the wrong business."

Boys Basketball Ranked in Top 25

By Michael O'Sullivan

The basketball season is right around the corner and Coach Bobby Locke and his team are looking to make this season a memorable one. With the Kits ranked among the top 25 in the state, hopes are high for the boys basketball team this year. Coach Locke, who is entering his third year as head coach of the team, thinks his team is ready. "I feel that our boys are ready to take it to the next level and become contenders for the state title this year. We fell just short of going to the state tournament last season, but this year we are committed to making it all the way to Peoria," Locke said. To make it to Peoria, where the Illinois State Basketball Tournament is held, the Kits will need big contributions from their senior class. Zach Morten, Sean Crogert-Key, Travis Clark, Danny Far and Stephen Ridniki, who are all seniors, are expected to start, and Jordan Nash, also a senior, should be a big contributor off the bench for the Kits this season.

Zach Morten, a key player for Evanston last year, feels the seniors will step up: "All the seniors on the team have a lot of experience, and I am really confident in all of them and their abilities. We all know we can make it to State; all we have to do is believe in each other and play together," Morten said. The Wildkits begin their season with the Lane Tech Tournament on Nov. 19, and their first home game is against Niles North on Nov. 27.

Boys Cross Country Qualifies for State

By P. H. Toor

A mission that began at the end of last season was finally accomplished last weekend for the boys cross country team, as they are one of  20 teams heading to the state meet in Peoria this weekend. In many ways, this season has been an extension of the disappointing 2006 season where injuries derailed the team.

"I think we finished fifth in our conference and then in our regional we didn't even qualify for sectionals," Coach Dave Phillips said. "That right there set the groundwork for this season. Those guys didn't like that and they had a bitter taste in their mouth. They were determined not to let that happen again."

Seniors Matt D'Arcy and Sam LeVon led the team in a rigorous off-season training program. Every weekday morning over the summer, the top seven runners on the team would run together at 6:30 am. By the end of the summer they were running 10-miles each day to get ready for the 2007 season.

"We're pretty close as a team and we all wanted to do well so we decided to work really hard this past summer. We also went down to Peoria in the middle of July to have a couple time trials there. That helped increase our competitiveness," co-captain D'Arcy said.

"Those guys [D'Arcy and LeVon] put it on their shoulders to guide this team. They were a group of guys on fire over the summer," Coach Phillips said. "They worked hard. They were committed. Running in the mornings and weekends as a group, they laid the groundwork for themselves over the summer. Then coming into the season, we knew that with the injuries last year we were kind of light on experience."

Despite the lack of experience, the team performed well this year, placing third at regionals and fourth at the sectional to qualify for the state meet. In the three-mile race at sectionals, D'Arcy finished eighth overall (15 min. 29 sec.), followed by LeVon at 17th (15:47), junior Matt Moral, 24th (15:54) and junior Jamie Merdinger, 51st (16:17).

 "I think it's been a great season," LeVon said. "We accomplished a lot of our goals, we tied for the conference [title] and we qualified for state. Those were our two main goals."

Despite the success the boys have already achieved this year, there still remains one more race.  Coach Phillips hopes his team not only meets his expectations but also exceeds them.

"It's a very hard year in Illinois cross-country. It would be outstanding for us to finish in the top 10. Realistically we're in the 11-15 range but that doesn't mean that we're not going for the top 10," Coach Phillips said. "We have room for improvement and we definitely haven't run our best meet. Our best race, I hope lies in front of us. It would be a nice time to do it this coming Friday."