GA_081816

30 | August 18, 2016 | The glencoe anchor sports
glencoeanchor.com
Making a run for it
Trio of residents,
backfield mates look to
leave mark as seniors
Fouad Egbaria, Editor
Look up and down the 2016
New Trier football roster and
you won’t see Glencoe heavily
represented — that is, until you
get to the offensive backfield.
Seniors Francis Fay, Jake Lowell
and Max Rosenthal, all of
Glencoe, helped pace the Trevians
offensive attack in 2015 and
are poised to do so again this
fall. Rosenthal regularly put his
head down as the north-south
power back while Fay served as
a speedy change-of-pace back.
From his fullback position,
Lowell — also an accomplished
wrestler — paves the way for his
fellow Glencoe residents, who as
kids grew their love of the game
playing on the field by Central
School and at the Takiff Center.
“Central School, that’s where
our summer camps started,”
Rosenthal said after the morning
practice session Aug. 10. “When
we were little, just trying on the
helmet the first time and getting
the first hits out there, I think
that’s kind of really where it all
began on that grass field.
“Sometimes when Francis
and Jake and I drive home, because
we usually ride together,
we drive by that field and we say
‘That’s where it all began.’ ”
Lowell, the deadpanning
jokester of the group, said he and
Rosenthal often played catch before
practices to pass the time.
“He used to throw bombs before
practice,” Lowell said. “I
would just run as far as I could
and he would just throw absolute
bombs, it was crazy. I would
catch it because I was an amazing
athlete — and still am.”
In the fall, they would rush to
get to Takiff for practices after
school, sometimes getting there
more than an hour early.
“That’s roots,” Fay said. “That
goes back a long way. To see
where we are now, it’s pretty remarkable.”
In addition to playing house
league baseball together, the trio
cut their teeth as youngsters on
the gridiron with what was then
the Glencoe Trevians, first playing
together as fourth-graders. At
the start, Lowell called the shots
at quarterback before moving to
fullback and linebacker the following
year (last season, he also
played at defensive end). Rosenthal
also got his start at fullback
and linebacker.
Fast forward seven years later,
to last season, when the Trevians
had to replace productive
tailback Kevin Mulhern, who
ran for 1,229 yards and tallied
13 touchdowns in 2014. The offense
didn’t miss a beat last year,
however, often powered down
the field by the Glencoe trio.
It didn’t take long for them to
realize what they had. In fact,
they knew by the end of the season
opener, a 28-14 home victory.
“I think it was after the York
game, that’s kind of when, even
right after the whistle blew, I
think when we headed over to
the sidelines we realized we do
have a Glencoe-dominated backfield,”
Rosenthal said.
In that win, Fay broke open a
counter play to the left side, running
63 yards for a score.
“Fay ran through a huge hole,
scored, pointed to the student
section,” Lowell said. “That was
pretty cool. I got chills down my
back.”
Given the respective populations
of New Trier Township
communities, it’s not surprising
that Glencoe typically doesn’t
produce as many football players
as Winnetka or Wilmette
(which boasts a population approximately
three times that
of Glencoe). That only makes
three Glencoe residents in one
backfield even more notable.
Seniors (left to right) Francis Fay, Jake Lowell and Max Rosenthal,
all of Glencoe, will once again be major contributors for the New
Trier football team in 2016. In addition to playing on the defensive
side of the ball, all three play in the offensive backfield. Fouad
Egbaria/22nd Century Media
“Sometimes when Francis and Jake and
I drive home, because we usually ride
together, we drive by that field and we
say ‘That’s where it all began.’”
Max Rosenthal—New Trier running back on driving past
Central School with his fellow teammates and Glencoe
residents, Francis Fay and Jake Lowell
The Trevians have recently had
strong running backs from other
towns, including 2005 grad Matt
Kelly, of Kenilworth, and Mulhern,
of Winnetka. Coach Brian
Doll, entering his third year at
the helm, credited the area youth
programs, including the newly
merged Junior Trevians, the Kenilworth
Rebels and the Glencoe-based
North Shore Griffins.
“They’ve grown up and they
had some great coaches,” Doll
said of the backfield trio. “It’s
nice to see them all together,
they’re really close friends. ...
They’ve stayed close throughout
high school. It is special to them,
it means a lot that they’re [in]
that backfield together.”
Coming off of an eight-win
regular season — followed by a
postseason win before ultimately
falling at Homewood-Flossmoor
in the second round — the group
knows it has to help lead the
way in order to continue the program’s
growth. They won’t have
to do it alone, of course, as quarterback
Clay Czyzynski, also
a senior, will start for the third
consecutive season.
Each member of the Glencoe
trio leads, but in his own way.
Fay and Rosenthal, for example,
are vocal leaders. Also a cornerback,
Fay said he enjoys working
with fellow defensive backs and
teaching them the finer points of
a difficult position. Rosenthal,
too, can often be heard from afar
as he makes calls from his linebacker
position. Lowell, on the
other hand, said he is a “one-onone
type of guy,” a fitting characterization
for a position that
often has him sizing up a single
linebacker in the hole.
“Jake is a no-nonsense type
of kid,” Doll said. “He’s a really
tough kid who will run through a
wall for you. That’s kind of what
he does every day in practice. It
really helps some of our younger
guys quickly get acclimated to
varsity.”
With kickoff to the 2016 season
just over a week away, the
seniors checked off their goals,
which include a long playoff run
and a win against Maine South,
which hasn’t dropped a Central
Suburban League South game
since 2001. The schedule also
gets a little tougher with the addition
of Mid-Suburban League
foes Palatine and Fremd. Last
season, Palatine reached the
Class 8A semifinals, where they
were edged, 24-22, by eventual
state champion Loyola Academy.
First, though, they’re focused
on their Week 1 trip to Elmhurst
against York. As for Doll, he’s
simply enjoying the time left
with this group of seniors.
“They’re awesome,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about the
end of the season with them because
I’m just living it up having
them all there for another year.”
Whatever happens this season,
the three backfield mates are in
agreement: They want to leave a
legacy for future Glencoe athletes
at New Trier. To this day, they still
frequent Little Red Hen, where
they used to run around as little
kids, and say hello to co-owners
Lisa and Jim Ryba.
Now, as seniors, they hope
to influence the young Glencoe
kids you might find running
around the Vernon Avenue eatery
today.
“We’re really trying to set an
example for some younger guys
in Glencoe, kind of looking up to
not only athletes at New Trier but
athletes that come out of Central
School and the [school] district ...
kind of motivating them to come
into New Trier,” Rosenthal said.
“I know Glencoe is a small town
compared to [Wilmette and Winnetka]
but you can still produce
athletes and you can still make
a name for yourself at New Trier
and not get lost in the school.
“Definitely that’s something
we want [to do], we want to give
a shoutout to all of the kids in
Glencoe.”