Second Half Collapse Dooms Spartans

To say football is a game of two halves is cliché, but the Glenbrook North-New Trier game was certainly a game of two very different halves.

Glenbrook North led at halftime, but didn't get a first down the entire second half in a 33-14 loss to New Trier on Friday night in Northfield.

The Spartans (2-1) lost three fumbles and had just eight offensive plays in the second half. The New Trier (2-1) rushing attack, spearheaded by Jack Nykaza and Josh Perrimutter, pounded the Spartan defense for more than 250 yards.

"We didn't run a lot of plays," GBN quarterback Zack Hilgendorf said. "We gotta step up and have a good couple drives. We should have come back and won that game."

Glenbrook North coach Bob Pieper and his coaching staff gave the players an earful after the game.

"We didn't run enough plays on offense," Pieper said. "We fumbled a kickoff. They were obviously running the ball, but it comes down to we just need to get tougher. That's what we talked about right now. We couldn't get the defense off the field, they were on the field the whole game."

GBN sophomore running back Grant Rushing fumbled on the second play from scrimmage after a 23-yard run. That was a sample of what was to come.

"Grant ran well and tried to get a couple extra yards and fumbled," Pieper said. "He's a tough kid, he runs hard. He'll be fine."

Rushing redeemed himself on the next drive with a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle. He finished with 79 yards on 11 carries.

New Trier answered with quarterback Benji Cohen finding a wide-open Scott Schoder in the end zone from nine yards out. Schoder missed the extra point and the Trevians trailed 7-6 with 8:54 left in the second quarter.

It took the Spartans three plays to add to the lead. Hilgendorf scrambled until spotting running back Nick Freund, who came out of the backfield, wide open down the sideline for a 59-yard score.

Glenbrook North led 14-13 at halftime, but the Trevians got the ball to start the second half. Later in the drive, New Trier ran a reverse with Charlie Tilson on fourth-and-three for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Trevians their first lead of the game.

"It was a good call," Pieper said of the reverse. "They're a good team. They're well coached. They have some good players. We just didn't step up and answer the call in the second half."

Following a GBN three-and-out, Schoder made a 35-yard field goal to make it a two-score lead.

The Spartans muffed the ensuing kickoff. This seemed to take the life out of Glenbrook North. New Trier took advantage of the situation by rushing four times before finding the end zone.

Wide receiver Armin Batang tried to inject some life into his teammates and the Spartans' crowd after taking a kickoff to the GBN 42-yard line, but the Spartans couldn't get a first down and failed on a fake punt.

Another Schoder field goal made it 33-14 with just 5:36 to play. On the first play of the next Spartan drive, another fumble—this time by Hilgendorf on a scramble—essentially ended the night in appropriate fashion.

The switch from the first half to the second was drastic.

"We were just running our game plan [in the first half]," Hilgendorf said. "Passes were open and the runs were open. Second half, we just crumbled and didn't come together as a team like we should have."

Pieper said the team played pretty well in the first half and thought the team's scheme was very good.

"We just didn't execute in the second half," he said. "We did what we wanted to. You're winning 14-13 at halftime; you gotta come out with an attitude in the second half."

The Spartans will have to erase this defeat from their minds before hosting Niles West next Thursday.

"We gotta start over on Monday and work hard," Pieper said. "Hopefully they'll be able to handle adversity a little bit better than they did tonight."