Hawk defense responds, shuts out Lake Park
Bartlett head coach Tom Meaney is a defensive coordinator at heart and likes giving up points as much as an old lady likes giving up her seat on a bus.
So in response to his Hawks allowing 99 points through their first three games, Meaney took the defense back to basics in practice during the week: three days of grinding, hard-nosed fundamental tackling drills on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
"They understood, 'I guess we gotta hit,' " Meaney said.
The Bartlett defense clearly got the message. The Hawks forced 4 turnovers and limited Lake Park to 78 total yards and 4 first downs in a 35-0 Upstate Eight Conference victory at Millennium Field in Streamwood Saturday afternoon.
"After giving up so many points a shutout is just beautiful," said Bartlett inside linebacker Kyle Zelinsky, who registered 2½ sacks and was a fixture in the Lake Park backfield all day.
Lake Park head coach Andy Livingston calls the plays on offense and expected his team to bounce back from a shutout the previous week at the hands of Neuqua Valley.
But Bartlett confused the young Lancers -- who start sophomores at quarterback and tailback and a junior fullback -- with multiple coverage schemes, blitzes and stunts. Lake Park gained 8 total yards in the second-half, when its 5 possessions ended with a punt, interception, interception, interception and fumble.
"I just feel embarrassed to keep putting the defense out there under pressure all the time," said Livingston, whose team slipped to 1-3, 0-2. "Whether it's throwing the ball to (Bartlett defenders) or turning it over on downs or not being able to convert on a 1-yarder, the buck stops pretty clearly here.
"Two weeks in a row getting shut out in conference is not doing very well. I know there are some young kids at the skill positions, but it just comes down to playing hard. (Bartlett) did and we got confused."
The Bartlett offense took to the air when its running game was stopped early.
Quarterback Josh Hasenberg set the tone on Bartlett's first-quarter scoring drive by going 4-for-4 for 67 yards, highlighted by a 30-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Cory Brown.
In the second quarter the Hawks drove 64 yards in 7 plays, keyed by a 34-yard pass from Hasenberg to Alex VanNess. Running back Vinnie Libreri made it 14-0 with 4:06 left in the half when he ran over a Lake Park defensive back at the 3-yard line to score from 6 yards out.
Hasenberg finished the day 13 of 23 for 176 yards, spreading the wealth between VanNess (5 receptions), Brown (3), Greg Partyka (2), Matt Pashawitz (2) and Libreri (1).
"It takes a lot of pressure off me knowing everyone can go out there and make plays," Hasenberg said.
Bartlett (2-2, 1-1) made it 21-0 when bruising senior fullback Myles Griffin capped a 50-yard, 8-play drive with a 15-yard run up the gut.
Bartlett's Steve Seeman intercepted a tipped pass on the next Lake Park play from scrimmage and the Hawks scored 9 plays later from 1-yard on a Hasenberg keeper for a 28-0 lead with 2:19 to play in the third quarter.
Fabian Libreri added a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.