Niles North Falls Short in Shootout Versus Evanston

An offensive showcase isn't supposed to be settled by a special teams play.

But a missed extra point by Niles North in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference as Evanston won a thrilling, back-and-forth contest, 38-37, Friday night on their home field.

Tied 31-31 late in the fourth quarter, senior quarterback Bo Bradarich found senior wide receiver Sunil Rehmani for his third touchdown of the game. But senior linebacker George Neuhaus' extra point was no good and the Vikings led 37-31 with 4:19 to play.

"It's pretty uncharacteristic of him to miss the extra point; George has been automatic on those all year," said Niles North Coach Scott Smith, whose team fell to 1-2.

The Vikings defense couldn't hold Evanston as the Wildkits' Ray Bahr turned a delayed screen pass from QB Byron Dawkins into a game-winning 62-yard touchdown catch.

With no timeouts, the Vikings advanced the ball to their 40-yard line before Bradarich fumbled the snap and Evanston recovered with 1:56 to play.

"I'm disappointed obviously because we fought and felt like if we did the right things we could win this game," Smith said. "But on the flip side I'm thoroughly pleased and happy with my players because they played with so much heart and determination and that's good for me to see as a head coach."

The start of the game couldn't have gone any better for the Vikings as senior linebacker Dan Egan picked off Dawkins on the Wildkits' first official play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Neuhaus kicked a 23-yard field goal to put the Vikings up 3-0.

Bradarich extended the Vikings' lead to 10-0 on a one-yard QB keeper early in the second quarter. The run capped a 13-play drive that covered 78 yards for the Niles North offense.

But Evanston, spurred by running back Rendell Massie's quick cutbacks and elusive running style, responded with 21 unanswered points in the span of five minutes. He finished with 315 yards rushing on 25 carries.

"Rendell Massie is an unbelievable back, and we knew all week and we preached it all week that we had to wrap that kid up," Smith said. "He had a great game."

Niles North responded when Dawkins threw his second interception of the game – this one to Neuhaus – and Bradarich found Rehmani on an out-route for a six-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 21-17 just before halftime.

Both offenses picked things up in the second half. Excluding the Vikings' last drive of the game, every offensive possession in the second half for each team resulted in points.

Bradarich had his best statistical game of the season as he passed for 194 yards on 15 completions in 20 attempts.  

"When you run the ball so well, your play action is going to be huge so that's really what set that up," said Evanston Coach Mike Burzawa. "But give their offensive line credit."

Rehmani finished with 11 catches for 154 yards and three TDs. Sam Sharples was Niles North's leading rusher with 103 yards on 18 carries.

"It's one point away from Evanston going through the same thing," Smith said. "I don't think people thought Niles North would give [Evanston] a run, even though we beat them last year.

"We've got a short week and we're playing Glenbrook South on Thursday," he added. "So we have our work cut out for us."