IN THE SPOTLIGHT
New Trier quarterback Reed Bianucci threw for 193 yards against Glenbrook South in Week Nine. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Northwestern University-bound tight end Brian Kaiser of New Trier knows a thing or two about NU football history.
The 6-foot-7, 223-pound senior brought up the names of two former Wildcats quarterbacks — Trevor Siemian and Kain Colter — after NT’s 28-15 defeat of host Glenbrook South in a regular-season finale on Oct. 20.
“They made it work,” Kaiser said. “One liked to sling it, while the other liked to run the ball.”
Siemian, now the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos, and Colter shared the QB duties in the 2012 season, with Siemian serving as a passing threat and Colter finishing with the most rushing yards among the two.
NT (6-3, 4-1 in the Central Suburban League South) used the QB rotation of senior Reed Bianucci and junior Carson Ochsenhirt against Glenbrook South’s Titans (5-4, 2-3) for the first time this fall, and it worked quite well. The 6-3, 200-pound Bianucci — who opened the season as the Trevians’ starting signal caller, before losing the job to the 5-10, 170-pound Ochsenhirt after Week Three — completed 9-of-11 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown in Glenview; Ochsenhirt rushed 19 times for 64 yards to go with his 4-for-5, 70-yard effort through the air.
“Reed is a great kid, very mature,” New Trier football coach Brian Doll said, alluding to Bianucci’s healthy, team-first reaction to his No. 2 QB status following a 36-9 loss to host Barrington on Sept. 8. “Reed has an awesome attitude, and he plays with passion. What he’s gone through this season, being up, then down and then getting back up … that’s what life is all about for a lot of people.
“I’m very happy for him.”
Ochsenhirt’s biggest fan might be Bianucci, who raved about Ochsenhirt’s athleticism and playmaking abilities after the GBS game.
“He’s an incredible athlete,” Bianucci said. “Carson is an exciting player, fun to watch. Defenses have to be aware of the things he can do with the football. They have to be ready for the pass and for the run, especially the run.”
Bianucci’s favorite completion in Glenbrook South’s homecoming game was the one to … Ochsenhirt, who started the season as a wideout. The QB-to-QB connection went for 25 yards late in the third quarter.
Trevians junior running back Brian Sitzer (13 rushes, 55 yards) ran for a 31-yard TD on the next play, expanding the visitors’ lead to 24-7 with 1:54 left in the frame.
Three of Bianucci’s completions landed in Kaiser’s hands. The tight end finished with three catches for a season-high 117 yards.
Two of his grabs came on scoring drives: a two-play, 38-yard trip on NT’s first possession, capped by Sitzer’s first TD run (a 2-yarder); and a nine-play, 80-yard journey that ended with the first of junior Graham Dable’s two field goals (33 and 31 yards).
“Our receivers made great plays tonight,” Bianucci said humbly. “I had to stay ready on the sideline when Carson was in there. But that didn’t bother me; I still found a rhythm when I was in there.
“It all came together for us tonight.”
Bianucci connected with senior wideout Daniel Passeri (3 receptions, 62 yards) for the game’s only TD via a pass (a 34-yarder). Ochsenhirt churned for 18- and 19-yard runs in the fourth quarter.
Pass. Run.
Highly effective. Highly effective.
That adage, the one that says a team that uses two quarterbacks in game doesn’t have a quarterback?
Bianucci and Ochsenhirt debunked it last weekend.
New Trier, seeded No. 27 in the Class 8A bracket, visits sixth-seeded Loyola Academy (8-1) for a playoff opener on Oct. 28 (2 p.m.).
Notable: A throng of football players along the New Tier sideline chanted and jumped in place throughout most of the second half in the Trevians’ 28-15 defeat of host Glenbrook South on Oct. 20. The sound of the chant? Think of the wordless one that fans of the Atlanta Braves and Florida State Seminoles usually sing at home games. … New Trier led 11-7 at the half and tallied a TD on each of its first two possessions of the second half. Glenbrook South’s Titans, whose ball carriers accounted for 255 of their 283 totals yards, needed 15 plays — spanning parts of the third and fourth quarters — to travel 80 yards for their second TD of the game. … NT’s other significant stats and highlights in the game against Glenbrook South: wideout Anthony Nicholas (5 catches, 43 yards); running back/defensive back Donovan Perkins (5 rushes, 29 yards; pass breakup); and defensive back Matt Mosher (interception, pass breakup).