‘A Great Win For Us’: Giants outlast larger Wildkits in CSL crossover

John Boman was just having fun out there.

Boman and his fellow Highland Park Giants may have been outgunned on paper (in roster and player size) by the Evanston Wildkits, but that gave Friday night’s Central Suburban League crossover matchup a boost, at least to Boman.

“It’s energizing, honestly,” he said. “You get this motivation from playing someone good, and it’s so much fun. … It makes the game so much fun.”

Boman’s good times on the field were crucial to the Class 6A Giants’ 35-28 victory against the Class 8A Wildkits on Friday, Sept. 18, on Wolters Field in Highland Park.

The junior had two straight tackles for loss to doom a late Evanston series and 50 of his 90 rushing yards were gained on a third-quarter touchdown run that gave his team a 28-21 lead.

“He’s a humble kid, a quiet kid,” Highland Park coach Anthony Kopp said about Boman. “And he’s so coachable, extremely humble, and then he just locks in and wants to win.”

The Giants ground game was a difference maker on Friday.

Led by Boman, Zion Wood (72 rushing yards) and quarterback Gustav Crane (46 rushing yards), Highland Park rushed the ball 39 times for 228 yards and two scores.

“We just liked run against them,” Kopp said. “We challenged our team. I think running has been one of our weaknesses (this season). We challenged them to run the ball … and between Gustav, Zion and Boman, they did a great job. The (offensive) line did a great job. … We challenged them, and our guys stepped up.”

The passing game stepped up when necessary as well.

The Giants had squandered a 21-7 halftime lead, and then a 28-21 third-quarter lead. Tied at 28-28, Evanston had a chance to tie things up, but Boman’s defensive heroics — a quarterback sack for a 12-yard loss and a tackle for a 5-yard loss on back-to-back plays — got the ball back in his team’s hands.

Wood’s legs, gaining 38 yards on two carries, catalyzed a Giants drive to the Wildkits red zone, and from the 16-yard line, Crane connected with fellow senior Max Stevens on back-to-back throws to find the end zone and give the hosts a 35-28 advantage with four minutes to play.

On the second play of Evanston’s next drive, Highland Park’s Mason Auslander jumped in front of a pass in the flat for a game-clinching interception. The Giants followed by running out the clock.

The big defensive play was all-but predicted by Kopp earlier in the contest. After his team got called for two pass-interference penalties, he responded by telling them, “One’s coming,” referring to an interception.

“We were right there on those (pass interference calls),” he said. “Close calls, but they threw the flag. To me that says our guys are right there. Yea, we got (there) a little bit early, but we’re right there. And sure enough it ended up clicking.” 

Evanston got the jump on Highland Park in the first quarter, when junior Kamryn Farlow, a star all night, snagged a pass and took it 40 yards to the end zone.

Highland Park answered with a 21-point third quarter, scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run from Crane, a 3-yard pass from Crane to Owen Loftus, and a 9-yard pass from Crane to Peter Dimitriou that followed Evanston’s fumbled snap and turnover.

The Kits responded with three third-quarter touchdowns — one each from Farlow (45-yard reception), Aiden Payne (4-yard run) and Justin Johnson (25-yard reception) — to turn this one into a back-and-forth affair.

The host Giants, though, landed the final blow, capping what Kopp called a great week for his squad.

“I go back to that we had a great week of practice,” he said. “The energy was amazing. They were just locked in all week, so I think they just bought in, believed, fed off that great week. It was a lot of positive energy.” 

Highland Park has now won three straight after beginning the season 0-2 and moves on to another tough matchup with a Central Suburban South opponent. The Giants will face Glenbrook South, which is also 3-2 after three straight victories, on the road Friday, Sept. 25.

“We’re feeling great. We’re going to hit practice with the same energy and keep working on getting better,” Boman said. “GBS next week, and we’re already focusing on them.”

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