Usually, Clay Czyzynski doesn’t play a lot of defense.
But this was not just any game.
Just moments after scoring on a four-yard run to break a 24-24 tie with 2:30 left to play in Friday night’s first-round Class 8A state playoff game at Marist, the New Trier duo-threat quarterback quickly transformed himself —into an outside linebacker.
And, not surprisingly, Czyzynski made an immediate impact. On the fifth play of Marist’s final possession, No. 17 blasted around right end and sacked Marist quarterback Morgan Taylor for a four-yard loss.
Seven plays later, Marist (8-2) gave the ball up on downs, and New Trier went home with a hard-fought 31-24 upset victory.
“Is there anyone playing better football right now than Clay Czyzynski?” said New Trier head coach Brian Doll.
Czyzynski turned in a pretty amazing game. As a runner, he carried the ball 23 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. As a passer, he completed 10 of 11 passes for 183 yards.
And he was at his very best on NT’s final series. His four-yard run up the gut was the 17th play of the drive that covered 80 yards and erased nine minutes and 24 seconds off the game clock.
Czyzynski had an unforgettable game.
But don’t forget this. One of the unsung heroes was Peter Murray.
Murray, a junior running back, made his head coach look like a genius, when he picked up two yards on a 4th-and-1 at the NT’s own 29-yard line on the game-winning drive.
Insert new name here: Brian “The Gambler” Doll.
“I was either going to get yelled at or cheered,” said Doll. “But I think you have to take gambles in the playoffs, especially when you are on the road.”
New Trier Game Balls: Clay Czyzynski (Quarterback), Francis Fay (Running back/Defensive Back), Brian Kaiser (Wide Receiver), Anthony Nicholas (Wide Receiver), Max Rosenthal (Linebacker), Grant Higgins (Linebacker), Chris Notari (Linebacker)
Marist Game Balls: Morgan Taylor (Quarterback), Colin Meehan (Wide Receiver), Billy Skalitzky (Wide Receiver)
New Trier Offensive Player of the Game: Czyzynski
New Trier Defensive Player of the Game: Rosenthal
New Trier Stat Leaders
Offense: Czyzynski (23 rushes, 141 yards, 2 TD runs; 10-11-0 passing, 183 yards), Fay (12 rushes, 41 yards, 2 TDs), Kaiser (3 catches, 56 yards), Nicholas (3 catches, 47 yards), Scott McCabe (1 catch, 33 yards), Max Kaufman (1 catch, 34 yards), Peter Murray (5 rushes, 8 yards)
Defense: Rosenthal (11 tackles, 4-yard tackle-for-loss), Czyzynski (2 tackles, 4-yard QB sack), Higgins (6 tackles), Notari (6 tackles), Fay (4 tackles), Blake Field (5 tackles), Daniel Anderson (4 tackles), Ben Higgins (4 tackles), Max Bryla (4 tackles)
Special Teams: Andrew Severino (28-yard field goal)
Marist Stat Leaders
Offense: Taylor (14 rushes, 51 yards; 19-25-0, 181 yards, 2 TDs), Skalitzky (7 catches, 57 yards, TD), Meehan (5 catches, 46 yards, TD), Delonte Harrell (10 rushes, 44 yards, TD)
Special Teams: Tom Gillen (27-yard FG)
New Trier Unsung Heroes: NT Offensive Line (Joey Artinian, Nick Artinian, Liam Hirsch, Marcel Bauby, Chris Bisceglia), Murray.
Notable: Eight of Clay Czyzynski’s 10 passes went for 10 yards or more. His best ad-lib play of the night came late in the third quarter, when he scrambled to his left and unloaded a cross-field pass in the right flat to Scott McCabe, who won the ball against a Marist defensive back and sped down the right sideline. It ended up being the head-scratching call of the night, when the officials ruled McCabe out of bounds at the Marist three-yard line. “Scott came back to the sideline, and said, ‘Coach, I wasn’t even close to being out of bounds.’ ” No worries. Two plays later, Francis Fay scored from one yard out.