Czyzynski powers New Trier past Warren
Both on the ground and through the air, Warren couldn't tame Clay Czyzynski.
New Trier's senior quarterback had a hand in 5 touchdowns as the Trevians outlasted the Blue Devils 37-14 at Robert Naughton Field in a nonconference matchup Friday.
"He's a three-year starter and a heck of a player," said Warren coach Bryan McNulty. "That's kind of what you expect out of a player like that. If you don't play disciplined, he's going to burn you. We didn't play disciplined, and he burned us."
The Trevians' first-team offense was tough to tame, scoring on all but one possession that featured a knee to end the opening half.
Czyzynski was a near-perfect 14 of 16 for 213 yards and a pair of scoring strikes through the air. He was equally effective on the ground, rushing for 98 yards on 15 touches with three scores.
"We put it together really quick and that's our goal," Czyzynski said. "When we're getting down in the red zone we've got to put points up no matter what. I'm really proud of our line and our receivers caught the ball well tonight. It was a great team effort."
Czyzynski capped a ground-led opening drive for New Trier (2-0) with a fake and rollout to pay dirt from 4 yards out.
A forced punt by the Trevian defense then led to an air raid. Czyzynski landed a 36-yard strike to Scott McCabe before placing a perfect deep ball to Eric Nicholas in the end zone from 45 yards out to make it a 2-touchdown game.
Warren (0-2) responded on its third drive of the game, using a mix of run and pass from its own signal caller Luke Schmitt. He completed a pass of 15 and ran for 12 to move the chains into Trevian territory.
A short pass and 8-yard gain set up Melvin Pettis for an 8-yard score.
On the flip side, however, the visitors were unable to corral Czyzynski, who finished the half with five completions and three runs, including a 25-yard scoring toss to Brian Kaiser to make it a 20-7 game at the midpoint.
The second half brought much of the same as New Trier opened the third quarter with a 15-play drive highlighted by Sam Rutherford's 30-yard field goal.
After holding Warren to a punt, Czyzynski hit for two first downs, and then kept the ball for a 25-yard score.
The Blue Devils cut the deficit in half on their next play from scrimmage as Schmitt hit Jalin Tolbert with a 68-yard touchdown strike. But the Trevians reeled off a 12-play drive with a quarterback keeper from one yard away sealing the non-conference win.
"They won this game," McNulty said. "They bullied us around a little bit. It was what it was."
Schmitt finished with 131 yards on 8 of 18 passing with a late interception for Warren, also tallying 73 yards on 14 carries. Tolbert caught 4 passes for 100 yards.
Francis Fay added 83 yards on the ground for the Trevians, who was led in the receiving game by a 4 for 93 outing from Eric Nicholas.