Area’s football talent on display in inaugural CSL Showcase

High school football rarely takes center stage during the spring sports season, but for one glorious night in Northfield, the area’s top talent made sure to show the gridiron can shine bright any time of year.

More than 150 local student-athletes hit the football field on Wednesday, May 13, for the first Central Suburban League football showcase. The inaugural event put some of the CSL’s top players from all 12 of its member schools on display for nearly 80 college coaches.

JUMP TO: NEW TRIER | HIGHLAND PARK | SCHEDULE CHANGES

Hosted at New Trier High School’s Northfield athletics facilities, the showcase intended to help the conference’s student-athletes exhibit their talents and connect with next-level coaches. It also afforded college coaching staffs an opportunity to simultaneously see players from both sides of the ball across a variety of drills and skill work.

The showcase began with all players participating in speed and agility drills before breaking off into more position-specific work. Linebackers, defensive backs, quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs worked against each other while special-teams players and offensive and defensive linemen squared off on a separate field.

“It’s been a great night for not just our kids at New Trier but I think for all the kids in the conference and I’m really happy about that,” New Trier head coach Brian Doll said.

New Trier shows glimpse of ‘reloaded’ offense led by Big Ten quarterback

As is the case with many teams, the story of New Trier football’s 2026 season starts under center.

The Trevians enter the upcoming campaign led by their star senior quarterback, Purdue University commit Jackie Ryder.

The 6-foot-5 gunslinger burst onto the scene for New Trier as a first-year starter in 2025, leading the Trevians to their first playoff appearance since 2021. Ryder delivered an impressive campaign, firing 1,775 yards and 17 touchdown passes while earning All-Conference accolades.

With Ryder in tow, this season will mark the first time Doll has ever had a Big Ten-committed quarterback under center. And while that’s a great feeling, the longtime Trevians coach and his staff are devoted to ensuring the team makes the most of it.

“I love it, it’s been great,” Doll said of having Ryder — who he described as having “one of the biggest arms” he’s ever seen — under center this year. “But there’s a lot of work to be done and we have to make sure he has a great season and that we set him up for success.

“I’m excited to watch him play and we’re excited for everything he’s going through right now. He deserves all of this after all the hard work he’s put in. I’m really proud of him, and Jackie and his family have been great to work with through this process.”

Also a key member of New Trier’s baseball team, Ryder is currently locked in to helping the Trevs on the diamond. But Wednesday’s showcase offered Ryder an earlier-than-usual chance to begin football work.

“Things are feeling great right now,” Ryder said. “I came out throwing the ball really well today. I was able to hit a lot of passes, hit some receivers in stride, so I felt really good today and am looking forward to the season.”

Ryder and the Trevians offense will look to a new group of pass catchers this season after Emmett Koshkarian (49 catches) and Keefer Baxter (7 touchdowns), a pair of their most productive receivers in 2025, graduated. Together, the duo amassed more than 1,000 receiving yards.

But New Trier is confident the team enters 2026 with a “pretty stacked” skill-position group.

The Trevs will look to a pair of names to help fill the lost production: three-year starter Alex Fairchild and junior Ben Sullivan. Doll said New Trier expects Fairchild, also a defensive back, to have “a more significant role on offense this year,” noting he’ll see a lot more time on that side of the ball.

Sullivan became a key part of New Trier’s offense late in 2025, serving as one of the team’s best big-play threats. The Trevs expect Sullivan, who is also one of the state’s best lacrosse players, to be a significant weapon once again.

Junior Paul Liang is a top candidate to fill Koshkarian’s role last year, Doll said, describing the shifty, speedy junior wideout as an “electric” player about whom the Trevs are excited.

John Baxter, Keefer’s younger brother, is also anticipated to play a big role on offense.

Senior Declan O’Meara and junior Nik Hanold are back to lead New Trier’s rushing attack.

Ryder’s excitement for the Trevs’ refreshed offense is already high.

“I feel like I can trust any of the guys we put out there to make the play and I’ve got a great connection with all of them,” he said. “They’re great guys and I’m just looking forward to what I think is going to be a pretty special year.”

Rising junior quarterback Elliot Baxter, who led New Trier’s sophomore team to a conference championship last season and will almost certainly succeed Ryder down the line, joins the offense as well, giving the Trevs a high-caliber quarterback room.

“Offensively, from a skill position standpoint, I know we lost a couple of people but we really reloaded a lot of those positions,” Doll said.

One of the strongest takeaways from the offseason thus far is the team’s progress in the weight room, Doll noted.

“The biggest thing is that our weight room development again has been better than it was last year and we’ve been tracking those numbers and we’re happy to say we’re stronger at this point than we were last year,” he said.

Defensively, New Trier will count on the likes of its key returning starters to lead the way: Fairchild, Rick Miller, Peter Cusick and Will Molloy. The team also expects linebacker Logan Zettek, a transfer from Loyola Academy, to be a big part of the defense as well.

Giants look to build off 2025 success

As the Highland Park Giants prepare for the 2026 season, a key question looms: How do you replace one of the most productive players in program history?

The Giants will have to make way this season without their two-way star Lucas Gordon, a Washington University commit who last year led the team in catches, receiving yards, touchdowns, tackles and interceptions. Gordon’s remarkable 2025 campaign earned him CSL North Offensive Player of the Year honors as well as an honorable mention nod on the All-State list.

“That’s really the big question for us: How do you make up those yards, how do you make up those touchdowns, all those crucial plays,” Highland Park head coach Anthony Kopp said. “But I think we’ve been doing a good job (this offseason).”

Kopp mentioned rising seniors Max Stevens and Owen Loftus as two players who the Giants will count on to help fill the void left by Gordon’s absence. Both played roles in HP’s offense last season and each is expected to take on a bigger workload this year.

“I think we’ll maybe be a little bit more balanced offensively, but we should be in for a good year with a lot of guys coming back,” Kopp said.

Central to the Giants’ hopes for 2026 is also the return of All-Conference quarterback Gustav Crane, who impressed last year with 1,596 passing yards and 19 touchdown passes.

“It’s a big deal and a huge advantage for us having him back,” Kopp said.

HP also enters the year with its backfield in great shape. The Giants will welcome back their two lead rushers from 2025: Jayden Corchado and John Boman.

All-Conference lineman Addison Courtman-Simanek is also back for the Giants in 2026 and is expected to be a key part of the team’s defensive unit.

The Giants go into the campaign on the heels of a strong 2025 that saw them win the Central Suburban League’s North division, go undefeated in conference and return to the state playoffs for the second time in seven seasons.

“We’re very excited for this season,” Kopp said. “We’re coming off a big year and in our eyes we see another opportunity to have another huge season, so there’s definitely a lot to be excited about.”

Schedule update

Gone are the days of the Mid Suburban League crossover. Gone are the days of the five-game CSL conference schedule. And, perhaps, gone are the days of New Trier playing one of the area’s toughest schedules.

The Trevians 2026 slate of opponents features a much different look than year’s past as the CSL this season will shift to a new conference layout for the upcoming season.

Instead of the traditional north and south divisions, the CSL this year will be broken down into three four-team divisions. That shift means the conference portion of a team’s schedule this year will be just three games.

Joining New Trier in its division are Glenbrook South, Maine South and Evanston. Matchups against the three schools will make up the conference portion of the Trevs’ season.

New Trier will start out the season with a home game against Naperville North, marking the third straight year the Trevians have opened with the Huskies. The team will then travel west to face Waubonsie Valley.

Week 3 will feature a CSL crossover where Vernon Hills will travel to Northfield before New Trier opens conference play with a home showdown against Maine South.

Weeks 5-7 will then all feature more crossover games: a road game against Niles West, home against Deerfield and a date in Des Plaines versus Maine West.

New Trier will then wrap up the regular season with Glenbrook South and Evanston, in order.

“One of the things that’s exciting for kids is playing different teams and different conferences and so on,” Doll said, adding that the team was “very aware” the schedule featuring games against the MSL was a tougher one.

“There is a belief also that our conference wants to stick together and be together too and these cross-over games are kind of historic games that we haven’t played for a long time,” Doll said. “There’s relationships between the kids and communities and also the coaches. It will be fun to see some of those rivalries renewed.”

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