Ben Snider ’23 couldn’t believe it and neither could the fans.

After his third touchdown catch of the game, Snider was exhilarated and so was the whole team. The Patriots went down early in the first quarter but bounced back with 35 unanswered points to take a commanding win.

The New Trier Trevians struck first with a 10-yard touchdown pass when Patrick Heneghan connected with wide receiver Miles Cremascoli with five minutes left in the first quarter. A solid third drive from the Trevians was a spark that blew out as soon as the Patriots took possession again. The Trevians were held scoreless through the rest of the game.

In the following possession, the Patriots rallied back from the early deficit after running back Michael Maloney ’23 took the handoff from quarterback Matt Projansky ’23 and scored his (and the team’s) first touchdown of the year. Maloney broke a few tackles and accelerated into the open field for a 60-yard run to the endzone. After that score, the team didn’t hold back.

In only the second play of the second quarter, Projansky threw an absolute dime to Snider along the sidelines, who broke a tackle and blazed past everyone to score a 94-yard touchdown. Just one week ago, Ben Snider played his first-ever high school football game against Maine South and made some noise. Fast-forward a week later and Snider is scoring three total touchdowns.

“I am confident, but I know at the same time teams are going to start triple-teaming me now and I need to be prepared for that,” Snider said. “Confidence is definitely one thing, but I know my quarterback [Projansky] is going to give me the ball where I need it.”

Snider was the recipient of six catches from Projansky, and he racked up 200-plus receiving yards. The other touchdowns came from Maloney and wide receiver R.J. Dent ’23 who caught another Projansky pass late in the second quarter to put the team up 28-7 at halftime. Projansky ended the game with an impressive four touchdowns.

Led by linebacker Luca Morelli ’23, defensive-end Colin Schultz ’23, defensive-end Ethan Agakhan ’24, nose-tackle Shun Yamato ’23, safety Gyeongwu Kim ’23, and many other talented players, the defense was nearly unmovable. Agakhan racked up three sacks for the game and cornerback Charlie Skolnik ’23 came up with two huge interceptions to help anchor the defense.

The team played an all around great game but there was some sloppiness. There were 10 total penalties for the Patriots that will need to be reduced when playing a team like Warren Township in two weeks. Warren is a team that will take advantage of every opportunity they get, being the ninth best team in Illinois.

Nonetheless, the Patriots were confident coming into this game, and Head Coach Brent Becker felt that last week’s game against Maine South was a good challenge for them to get better.

“Finishing drives has been a point of emphasis all week in practice,” Becker said. “We know it, we were in the red zone a couple of times in the first quarter [against Maine South] and had the chance to score 14 points [but] didn’t get that.”

Coach Becker made the right adjustments and the offense was able to score five touchdowns in a dominant fashion. Kicker Caden An ’26 connected on all five extra points to finish every drive for the Patriots, and the special teams stood their ground, despite not having the best field position throughout the whole game.

Next up for the Patriots is an away game at Lake Zurich on Sept. 9. After that game, the Patriots have their next home game against Warren Township on Sept. 16.

If you can’t make the next home game, be sure to check out the Stevenson Patriot Athletics Youtube page for a live broadcast from the Sports Broadcasting Club and SHS TV!