This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Wildkits look for revenge against Vikings

Evanston comes off win over Homewood-Flossmoor and looks to challenge Niles North.

The Evanston High School football team is thinking back to their loss against Niles North last year as they prepare to take the team on again in the 2010 season.

"Last year Niles North was very physical with us and we really struggled against them,'' Evanston coach Mike Burzawa said. "They beat us 21-14 and that was the difference in us not making the playoffs."

The 1-1 Wildkits don't want to have to look back again at the Niles North game with regret when the 2010 season ends, so Burzawa is expecting a big game from his players.

Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Wildkits are coming off a close victory over Homewood-Flossmoor 52-49 in a game in which receiver James Brown caught three long touchdown passes (for 55, 70 and 61 yards) the day after his father passed away following a long battle with cancer.

"It's a testament to his character,'' said Burzawa, who said Brown missed only one day of practice in the midst of the family turmoil.

Find out what's happening in Evanstonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Wildkits trailed Homewood by 12 points twice in the second half but got the winning touchdown with three minutes left in the game to record the victory.

For the Niles North contest, Burzawa wants to see a more technical efficient game, especially since it is now the third week of the season and time to correct mental mistakes.

"Offensively, we have to eliminate the penalties,'' Burzawa said. "One time we didn't have enough players on the field, and those are things that are unacceptable. We have to improve our discipline."

Burzawa also said he needs to see an improvement in the team's defensive tackling, a part of the reason the Wildkits gave up 49 points to Homewood.

The Wildkits went from 2-7 in Burzawa's first season to 4-5 last season and are looking for a winning season this time around. At 1-1 after two weeks, Burzawa is not sure how to assess the team's performance so far.

"We have had a lot more adversity than we could have imagined,'' Burzawa said. "We were happy to get the win, but we were disappointed how we played in our first game against Loyola. Things have evened out for us. A lot of kids have had the opportunity to step up due to our injury situation."

The Wildkits have played without tight end Tommy Rourke, who broke his ankle during the first couple of days of practice, and offensive lineman Joe DeGrande, who suffered a minor tear in his ACL.

Niles North (1-1) is coming off a 24-15 win over rival Niles West in the Skokie Skirmish game.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?