‘Perfect Ending For Us’: New Trier caps 8-win regular season with dramatic victory over Evanston at Ryan Field

A rivalry that for more than a century has added special stories authored possibly its finest chapter Friday night in the most special of settings. 

New Trier and Evanston, two of the state’s enduring foes, delivered a drama on Oct. 16 in the first high school football game ever played at Northwestern University’s newly opened $850-million rebuilt Ryan Field.  

Behind five rushing touchdowns from star running back Throy Nightingale Jr., New Trier ultimately prevailed over host Evanston 42-28 in a back-and-forth thriller.

“Tonight was unreal, to be honest,” Nightingale Jr. told The Record. “I look forward to hopefully one day being able to play (at Ryan Field) in college, but tonight was such a special experience to win only the third game ever played on this field. It’s amazing, especially being able to experience this with my teammates.” 

More than 27,000 tickets to the Week 9 matchup were sold, according to university officials, far surpassing even the most optimistic expectations of interest in the unprecedented game between the local schools.

Finishing the regular season with a moment, and game, that will go down in New Trier lore is something the program will never forget. 

“It’s a big moment and it’s really surreal everything that happened tonight,” New Trier head coach Brian Doll said. “Obviously, winning the game is really important for us but tonight you’re celebrating your communities, you’re celebrating your alumni, you’re celebrating your students who showed out and you’re celebrating the great regular season we had.”

New Trier’s victory over Evanston put the finishing touch on what was a remarkable regular season for the Trevians, whose eight wins this season are the most since 2015. 

“It’s just the perfect ending for us,” New Trier senior captain Rick Miller said. “ I remember the feeling after ending our season 2-7 (in 2024). … To see all the offseason work go to good, there’s just no better feeling. We put in so much time and effort, and to go 8-1, it’s just so rewarding for us.” 

Trevs overcome ‘shell-shock moments’

New Trier put itself in an unfamiliar position early in the second quarter. 

After the Wildkits found the end zone via a 7-yard touchdown run, the Trevs were trailing in a game for the first time since Week 4. 

But the deficit proved to be short-lived as New Trier produced one of the game’s signature plays on its next series. 

Quarterback Jackie Ryder on third down connected with his top target, junior Paul Liang, who juked past an Evanston defender for a stunning 57-yard touchdown that gave New Trier a 14-12 lead and sent the Trevians faithful at Ryan Field into a frenzy. 

The Trevs started the game with a series of plays that put Evanston on its heels. Senior Peter Cusick, in his first game since early September, intercepted Evanston’s first pass attempt of the game. 

“That was surreal,” Cusick said of the play. “I missed the last four games and I’ve been itching to come back. Then, on the second play back, I don’t think I could have dreamed of a better play than that. I’m so happy right now, and I’m so happy for our team.”

Two plays after Cusick’s heroics, Nightingale Jr. rushed in a 19-yard touchdown to put the Trevs out in front. 

Evanston got on the board with a 42-yard field goal on its ensuing drive. The Wildkits forced a three-and-out on New Trier’s possession, then hit the Trevs with a quick strike of their own, going 56 yards on just two plays for a score. 

New Trier’s defense put forth another memorable play after the Liang touchdown when senior Ty Vanderkamp picked off a pass that was tipped on a leaping play by Miller.

It took New Trier only three plays to score from there as Nightingale Jr. rushed in his second from 2 yards out. 

Evanston narrowed its deficit before halftime with a 29-yard field goal that made the score 21-15. 

“We didn’t play the prettiest brand of football tonight like we’ve played, and credit some of that to the way Evanston played, but then also just the change of environment was big for a lot of kids,” Doll said of New Trier’s uneasy opening. 

“I’m sure after doing this for the first time with a group like this, the shell-shock moments were definitely there and you could kind of tell that guys were adjusting to the bigger stage and that’s not always the easiest thing to do,” he added. 

The Kits carried their momentum into the second half by forcing an interception and then embarking on a gutsy, six-play scoring drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kamryn Farlow on third-and-long to tie the score.

The back-and-forth nature of the contest continued from there. Ryder, on third-and-6, fired one of his most consequential completions of the night: a 22-yard dart to John Kropp under intense Evanston pressure after he corralled a bad snap that sailed over his head. 

Nightingale Jr. capped the drive once again, rushing in a 1-yard touchdown, which was his third of the night. 

Evanston had another answer up its sleeve, though. The Wildkits tied the game at 28 with a 9-yard touchdown pass. New Trier was able to take over from there.  

Nightingale Jr. pounded in another 2-yard score on New Trier’s next possession.Then Miller hauled in the Trevs third interception, to stall another Evanston push.

The fifth rushing touchdown of the game from Nightingale Jr., an 11-yard scamper, all but ended the matchup. 

The senior’s performance Friday night was a fitting finish to a superb regular season for Nightingale Jr. He carried the ball 25 times for 186 yards. He also caught three passes for 27 yards, pushing his total yards over 210 yards. 

Nightingale Jr.’s 2026 campaign will go down as one of the best in the program’s recent past. He finished the regular season with 878 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns across just eight games played. He also hauled in close to 300 receiving yards and caught six touchdowns.   

“He’s a season-changer — it’s as simple as that,” Miller said of Nightingale Jr.’s impact on the team. “He changed the outlook of our season. I don’t think we get some of the wins we did without him. I don’t think we get some of the blow-outs we do without him. I’m just really happy to have him on the team.” 

Other key contributions on Friday included 168 passing yards from Ryder, 71 receiving yards from Liang, 55 receiving yards from Harry Resis and 26 from Sullivan. 

‘The greatest moment in my football career:’ Trevs players cherish once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

Beating Evanston always comes with a special sense of accomplishment — but being able to top the Wildkits in front of thousands of fans on the grandest of stages is a moment New Trier’s players will forever cherish. 

“Ever since they announced this game, we’ve all been itching to play here,” Cusick said. “ … But standing here right now, this is just the greatest moment in my football career.” 

Finishing the regular season with such an experience has a particularly special meaning for senior captain Alex Fairchild, who is a three-year varsity starter. 

“I think from being on this team my sophomore year going 2-7 to where we are now, it really shows a complete shift in the mindset and culture (of New Trier football),” he said. We’ve built such a strong community with such a great group of guys. … It’s surreal to play in an atmosphere like this and the win just makes it even better.” 

Of playing at Ryan Field, Fairchild added: “You just have to take it all in. The amount of people here, the stage, the stadium, it’s honestly just incredible. It makes it that much more nice but beating Evanston is already pretty nice itself.” 

Vanderkamp, a senior who battled back from an injury that kept him out of action all last year and returned to be a huge part of the Trevs’ defense this season, called the moment “all you can really ask for.”

“We beat our rivals in an atmosphere like this … and we’ve all been playing together as a group for so long … so it’s just amazing to see this.” 

Miller, who’s been one of New Trier’s key leaders all year, feels Friday night was just what the Trevs needed to end the regular season.

“It’s so special,” he said. This moment couldn’t be any better for the end of the regular season and the end of senior year.” 

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