Trevians punish rival Evanston

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Chris Harris almost never got on the field for the New Trier football team last season. Neither did Al Winslow. Neither did Brendan Green. Neither did James Nardini.

But the senior corps of wide receivers -‹ whether it's a new offense that created new opportunities, or just a year of growth and hard work - is making up for lost time for the Trevians.

The 6-foot-5 Harris caught five passes for 82 yards, including a pair of touchdowns, and Winslow also grabbed a TD pass in the first half Friday night as New Trier punished rival Evanston for a 45-6 homecoming victory in Northfield.

New Trier struck for three touchdowns in the final 4:24 of the first half and eased to its fourth straight victory after two early losses. Evanston dropped to 1-5 on the year and has now lost 14 of the last 16 encounters with the Trevians.

With the win, New Trier also kept pace with unbeaten Central Suburban League South division front-runners Maine South and Glenbrook South.

Harris and his classmates saw opportunity knocking when new head coach Matt Irvin brought his no-huddle, spread attack north from St. Louis.

They started working hard back in June - and haven't stopped yet.

"Every day, starting in the offseason, we approached it like it was game day," said Harris, who didn't even play football as a freshman. "This new offense opened up some spots for a lot of people and we realized it was a new offense, a new scheme and a new beginning for some of us.

"I felt I should step up as a senior and so did the others. All that hard work is starting to pay off now. The offense is really starting to click for us now, and it's all about rhythm and timing. Our pace is too good and the defenses can't keep up."

"Our receivers have been very earnest in their work ethic, and with their attention to detail," Irvin praised. "They're all starting to blossom now. They get a lot of opportunities every day to run routes, catch balls and refine what they're doing. We always tell them what they do during the week is what sets the table for Friday nights.

"We felt really good about how deep we were at receiver during the summer, and now that we've got some consistency at the other positions - our offensive line has gotten a lot better, too - that's allowed them to blossom."

Leading 14-6 late in the second quarter, New Trier put together back-to-back scoring drives of just 50 yards.

Quarterback Stu Brown (12-for-16 for 194 yards, three touchdowns) ran for a 7-yard TD and then hit Winslow for a 10-yard score after a 31-yard completion to Harris set up that play.

Evanston's Darrell Shepherd then shanked a punt, and Brown capitalized immediately with a 13-yard touchdown pitch to Harris with 30 seconds left in the half.