New Trier’s Nykaza tested at passing camps

Updated: June 30, 2011 12:34PM

New Trier’s 2010 football season was a solid one, especially considering the team was young and playing under a new coach.

The Trevians went 5-5 and lost to Stevenson in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.

Expectations are being raised for Dan Starkey’s second season in charge.

“We had a lot of juniors getting experience last year,” said the coach, who came to Winnetka from Glenbard South. “Taking over a new program, it takes time to get to know the kids, the community and the culture of the school.

“But (this fall) we hope to be improved, to get a little more physical and to have a good offseason program.”

In addition to workouts and camps, the offseason will include as many as six 7-on-7 passing competitions and three linemen challenges. On Wednesday, the Trevians will host a 7-on-7 passing competition with Glenbrook North, Loyola and Palatine. New Trier will attend similar events at Downers South (July 9), Wheaton Warrenville South (July 13) and Bolingbrook (July 16).

The Wheaton South Elite tournament is particularly intriguing. Eight teams will participate including the host Tigers, Wheaton North, Maine South, Glenbard West and Barrington. In upcoming years, the Elite will be used as a qualifier for the National 7-on-7 Tournament in Hoover, Ala., where Maine South competed in 2010.

With the graduation of quarterbacks Connor DeLoach and Benji Cohen, New Trier appears headed into these competitions with inexperienced signal callers, but that is only partly true.

Last season, Jack Nykaza had been slated to start at quarterback before a hand injury hampered his summer preparations. An illness to projected starting tailback Josh Perlmutter meant Nykaza’s skills were needed at running back, where he gained 769 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.

But this summer, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Nykaza had reportedly been turning heads at various national quarterback-skills camps. He’s already receiving D-I attention even though he has not played the position yet in high school.

Nykaza should have a solid receiving targets with the return of seniors Christian Carr and Eric Benjamin. The team will miss dynamic receiver Charlie Tilson, who was a threat on offense and special teams.

“Obviously a guy like Tilson, with his athleticism, he’s going to be a hard guy to replace,” Starkey said.

Other key seniors this fall for New Trier are offensive lineman Casey Karnes, linebacker Sam Scherer and linebacker Jack O’Malley.

Schedule: New Trier has two nonconference games this season, one of them against a new opponent and the other a familiar foe.

The Trevians will open the season on Aug. 26 at home against Schaumburg in the first meeting between the schools.

In Week Two, the Trevians will travel to Warren for a second straight season. Last year, New Trier opened the campaign with a 10-7 win over the Blue Devils in Gurnee.

The Trevians will head to Highland Park (Sept. 9) and host Maine West (Sept. 16) in their two CSL crossover games. Maine South comes to Northfield on Sept. 23 for the CSL South opener.

At the next level: According to Starkey, three players from last year’s New Trier team are scheduled to play in college: defensive back Tom Merriman (Hamilton College in New York), tight end Henry Falter (Amherst in Massachusetts) and linebacker Scott Southern (University of Chicago). Tilson has a baseball scholarship to the University of Illinois, but also was selected in the second round of the amateur draft.

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