Evanston’s girls tied the single season flag football school record for victories Monday night.

Now they want more.

The Wildkits thumped Loyola Academy 28-6 and advanced to the sectional championship game for the second straight year behind another dominant performance on defense and three touchdown passes by quarterback Maggie Conforti.

The Kits, now 17-3 overall, will get a chance to avenge one of those regular season losses when they meet Maine South at 5 p.m. Tuesday for the championship of the Lane Tech Sectional. The top-seeded Hawks eliminated host Lane 13-0 in Monday’s other semifinal.

The ETHS flag football team is looking to add a sectional championship to its trophy collection against Maine South on Tuesday. Credit: ETHS Athletics

“These girls really, really want it [a return trip to the Illinois High School Association state tournament], and they showed it tonight,” said Evanston head coach Carlton Rosemond, who lost his voice by the start of the second half and had to rely on his staff to relay audibles to the players on offense and defense. “Part of my [pregame] speech to them today was about understanding that we have to play four quarters, because we’ve already seen too many teams in the playoffs that have given up leads — and had their seasons end.

“It’s about playing with grit and toughness because every round of the playoffs gets harder. Our offense sputtered a couple of times tonight, and we had one mental lapse on defense, but otherwise our defense was lights out again.”

Conforti, the lone senior starter, tossed touchdown passes to Camille Calixte (14 yards), KyNia Hunt (21 yards) and Brielle Rosemond (24 yards), and also ran 11 yards for a score in the last two minutes of the contest. She completed 21-of-36 passes for 214 yards, but was intercepted three times by Loyola (19-5). Conforti also contributed 59 yards on the ground on 12 carries.

Tight coverage by the defensive secondary limited Loyola’s star-in-the-making — 6-foot-1 freshman Sophia Calhoun — to 15-of-34 passing for 88 yards, despite all the deep downfield shots taken by Calhoun. She only got the Ramblers into the end zone once, scoring a 16-yard rushing TD in the second quarter.

Evanston wasn’t able to put pressure on the left-hander, and the Wildkits’ only sack came in the final minute of the game. That meant defensive backs like Tariah McLendon, Hunt and Rosemond had to maintain discipline and stay with Loyola’s receivers longer than usual.

Calhoun only completed three passes for more than 10 yards on the night, including a 17-yarder on a blown ETHS coverage that left a receiver (Mary Grace Connolly) wide open on a fourth down play and set the stage for the quarterback’s scoring run.

“Their quarterback will be a beast over the next three years. Loyola’s got a good program over there,” Rosemond praised. “Our secondary had to work very hard to stay on the same page tonight. We have two of the best pass rushers in the state [Camille Calixte and Nikki Dandelles], but because we couldn’t get any sacks tonight, that meant we were asking them to defend for four, five, six seconds where it’s usually just three or four. They had to lock in even longer, and sometimes that can be very hard.”

Evanston put together an impressive opening drive, marching 86 yards in 12 plays for the first score of the game. Conforti hooked up with Hunt for an 11-yard completion on fourth and 5 from the Rambler 25, and found Calixte in the end zone on the next play. Her extra point pass to Harper Wesenberg — the winners were a perfect 4-for-4 in the PAT department Monday — boosted the lead to 7-0.

The Ramblers answered with Calhoun’s score, but her PAT pass fell incomplete.

Loyola’s Alison Banaszek stole a Conforti pass midway through the second period and set her team up for a potential go-ahead score from the ETHS 45. But Evanston’s defense rose to the occasion after the Ramblers netted a single first down, and Calhoun launched a deep pass that fell incomplete on fourth down and turned the ball back over to ETHS.

The Kits reached deep into their arsenal of big plays to build the lead to 14-6 just before halftime. Rosemond’s receptions of 19 and 16 yards sparked the drive, Conforti rambled 17 yards on a quarterback keeper and Hunt’s leaping grab in the end zone with 46 seconds left on the clock made it 14-6.

The score didn’t change until the fourth quarter, when the winners used a short scoring march (28 yards) following a Loyola punt to open up the lead. Rosemond’s juggling catch and elusive running — she dodged two potential flag pulls — on her way to paydirt gave ETHS some breathing room. She also tacked on a successful PAT reception.

Conforti’s rushing score came after Loyola turned the ball over on downs from their own 11.

Now, just like last year when the Wildkits knocked off the Hawks in a regional championship game upset, it’s win or go home.

“Maine South is still the team that’s in our way, just like last year,” Rosemond said. “Both teams know how to play in tough games, and it will come down to whoever is able to make the most plays.”

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