Defense lifts Hawks to 5-0
Bartlett's offense was overly hospitable to its guests from St. Charles North, but the North Stars wouldn't accept the hosts' generosity in a 21-7 defeat at Millennium Field Saturday.
Bartlett led 14-0 at halftime of the clash for a share of first place in the Upstate Eight Conference, but the Hawks left the door wide open by turning the ball over 4 times in the third quarter.
Though the North Stars made Bartlett pay for its first mistake of the period - an interception by Mike Lefelstein that he returned 45 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 14-7 a minute into the second half - they frittered away 3 other possessions, including 2 deep in Bartlett territory. The North Stars threw 3 interceptions of their own in the period, undercutting golden opportunities to slice into the lead.
"They gave us chances that we just couldn't capitalize on," St. Charles North coach Mark Gould said. "Not only couldn't we capitalize, we gave the ball back to them and let them get momentum going again.
"It's frustrating. When you've got a great team like Bartlett, you've got to do something when you get those chances like that."
Not only did the Bartlett defense regain possession with third-quarter picks by David Palma, Brandon Burck and Mike Crain, it forced St. Charles North to the air in the first place by holding the North Stars to 47 yards rushing on 29 carries.
The Bartlett defense pitched its second shutout of the season on a day when the team's offense lost 3 fumbles and threw 2 interceptions.
"If one team doesn't come, the other has to pick everybody up," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "Today it was the defense. Some other day it will be offense. I know that for sure."
Bartlett (5-0, 2-0) did regain its composure offensively on its final drive of the third quarter.
Aided by a personal foul against the North Stars and an 18-yard run by Corleon Richardson, the Hawks drove 63-yards in 5 plays and took a 20-7 lead when Richardson cut inside birthday boy Andrew Gorski's seal block to score from 10 yards out with 11:55 left in the game. Dan Karys' extra point provided the eventual final margin.
Two possessions later, with Nick Neari playing quarterback, the North Stars drove 79 yards in 13 plays to the Bartlett 4-yard line. They needed 1 yard for a first down, but the Hawks turned Jordan Huxtable away for no gain on both third and fourth down. Bartlett linebacker Kyle Zelinsky knifed through the line to stop Huxtable for no gain on fourth down to send the North Stars away empty with 4:03 left in the game.
"Our defensive line did a great job and made a pile," Zelinsky said, "so everything was clear and I was just able to fill in."
St. Charles North (3-2, 1-1) was held to 205 total yards.
"They're a great team with a great defense, and they had a great game plan going into it," Neari said of Bartlett. "We just have to learn from our mistakes and see what we can do next week."
Bartlett took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with its best drive of the day: a 14-play, 83-yard march that took 6:19 off the clock. Fabian Libreri jumped over the pile with the ball outstretched to score from 1-yard out, giving Bartlett a 7-0 lead with 8:19 left in the second quarter.
The Hawks worked the two-minute drill to perfection to grab a 14-0 lead with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. After a short punt, Bartlett took possession with 1:34 left in the half and drove 53 yards in 10 plays, using all 3 timeouts. On third-and-3 at the 7-yard line, receiver Alex VanNess took a handoff to his right, turned and fired to open quarterback Josh Hasenberg for the touchdown.
"We've been practicing that play all summer, and we just knew we had to bring it out right there."