Fremd’s firepower overpowers short-handed New Trier in nonconference finale

Knocking off a top-ranked opponent operating at the peak of its powers is a tall order. But trying to do so without two of your top players makes the challenge all the more daunting. 

An undermanned New Trier team could not find the answers to slow down one of the area’s best squads, the Fremd Vikings, in a 35-16 defeat on Friday, Sept. 19, at Robert Naughton Field. 

The Trevs played the Week 4 matchup without their lead running back Declan O’Meara, who is also one of New Trier’s top defensive players, and tight end Luke Mastros. 

“We had some big kids out tonight,” New Trier head coach Brian Doll said, noting that the junior duo of Mastros and O’Meara had through three weeks accounted for a significant portion of the Trevians offense. “It’s hard to go into a game against a good team like this and have that happen.” 

New Trier felt the impact of missing its workhorse halfback from the jump, and the Trevs’ rushing attack could not find its footing early on. 

The Trevians collected 51 rushing yards in the first two quarters, but 40 of those came from quarterback Jackie Ryder. New Trier rushed for just 66 yards on the night. 

“They scouted us well, they knew a lot of what we were going to do up front and we just had to make plays when it counted,” Ryder said. “We were able to get some big plays and complete some big passes to help move the ball downfield. We usually like to run the ball but it didn’t really work out tonight. But I think we can learn from that and move forward.” 

New Trier’s play on the defensive side of the ball was the story of the first half as the Trevians held the high-powered Vikings offense to just seven points. 

Fremd started its opening drive at its own 26 and looked poised to open the game’s scoring after quickly moving the ball into New Trier territory on just three plays. But junior Rick Miller stopped the Vikings in their tracks when he wrestled the ball away from Fremd’s wideout to intercept a pass in the end zone.

The Trevians then embarked on perhaps their best drive of the season, as they put forth a methodical 16-play, 80-yard series.

The drive ended when Ryder raced home a 9-yard quarterback keeper to put New Trier on the board. 

Just four plays prior, Ryder notably kept the drive alive with a 14-yard scramble on fourth down that set up New Trier in the Vikings’ red zone. 

Fremd was quick to find an answer on the ensuing series. Johnny O’Brien, the Vikings star quarterback and Northwestern University commit, capped the 10-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass that evened the score at 7.

After holding Fremd to just seven points in the opening half, the Trevs’ struggled to find ways to solve the Vikings’ mighty offensive attack in the final two quarters. 

Fremd opened the half with a ferociously quick strike when O’Brien fired a 42-yard rocket to wide receiver Marquan Brewster on the third play of the third quarter. 

New Trier cut into Fremd’s lead with a 23-yard field goal from Alex Fairchild — the Trevs also played without starting kicker James Kyria — on its next drive.

But the Vikings delivered a haymaker in response, returning the ensuing kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown and extending their lead to two scores. 

Early in the fourth quarter, O’Brien connected again with Brewster for a 15-yard touchdown to put the Vikings out in front 28-10. 

The Trevs refused to give in though, authoring an eight-play, 64-yard drive, getting back to within striking distance thanks to a Ryder-Keefer Baxter 31-yard touchdown connection on fourth down.

The game’s final score came courtesy of a 9-yard touchdown run from Fremd’s Jayden Faulkner. The Vikings’ powerful junior running back was a factor all night, rushing for 134 yards on 17 carries. He also caught two passes for 23 yards.  

Although O’Brien completed only 11 passes (on 18 attempts), he finished the night with 197 passing yards and three touchdown passes. 

The Trevs finished with 283 yards of total offense. Ryder had a season-high 251 passing yards as well as 54 yards rushing. 

It was another strong night for senior receiver Emmett Koshkarian, who hauled in eight receptions for 129 yards. Koshkarian now has an impressive 21 catches over New Trier’s last three games.

“I’m proud of the way we fought tonight,” Ryder said. “It was a tie game at halftime. I think we just have to clean some things up with our energy and I think we can be a damn good football team. …  I think this is just a bump in the road that will help lead us to more success.” 

New Trier (2-2) will now shift its focus to Central Suburban League South play as the Trevs open up the conference portion of their schedule next Friday night, Sept. 26, when they play host to the visiting Deerfield Warriors (0-4) on homecoming night. 

“I’m pretty confident going into the conference,” Doll said. “ … Once we get those kids back and with what we have left on the schedule, there’s some games that are very winnable and then I think there are some games where we’re going to surprise some people and compete. If we can be healthy and have the guys we’re missing tonight, I think we’re going to be pretty good.”

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