Evolution of Bartlett's offense has Hawks flying high

The offensive philosophy of Bartlett football had to evolve.

For the first four seasons under the direction of head coach Tom Meaney and offensive coordinator Mark Williams between 2003-06, the Hawks adhered to the sport's most fundamental approach: run the ball down the opponent's throat.

Bartlett's signature play in those years was to blast a blocking fullback through the hole to make way for a 3- or 4-yard gain by the tailback. The aim was to methodically gain yardage, limit turnovers, burn clock and slowly grind down the opponent. They would throw the ball if they had to, but the Hawks rarely went to the air as a first resort.

Those rush-oriented offenses broke off some big runs for touchdowns, but Bartlett was mostly content to wear defenses down like brake pads until they screeched against their own rotors and failed.

The plan worked in the regular season. The Hawks won 24-of-36 regular-season games between 2003-06 and qualified for the playoffs every year.

But the run-heavy philosophy ran into trouble come playoff time. Bartlett lost in the first round in 2002, 2005 and 2006, and fell to Naperville Central in the second round in 2004.

Though power football was good enough to win games in the Upstate Eight Conference, playoff teams were able to expose the Hawks too often as one-dimensional. Playoff-caliber defenses could match the physicality of Bartlett's offensive line and fullbacks, and opposing coordinators would load seven, eight, maybe nine defenders into the box to overwhelm the running game at the point of attack. Teams dared Bartlett to beat them through the air and the dare paid off.

Bartlett drives would bog down during postseason games, and too often the Hawks were forced to throw the ball against good secondaries more than they had tried all season. It was like asking a Spanish class to take the final exam in French.

Thus, Meaney, Williams and staff broadened the playbook last year to give a talented class of athletes rising through the program - the current seniors, who went 9-0 as freshmen and 7-2 as sophomores with four players playing up on varsity - a more diversified offense with which to attack.

"I think for us to get further in the playoffs, we had to be a little more 50/50, not just run-dominated," Meaney said this week. "That's why it's come along."

Talented senior Josh Hasenberg - who Meaney said is "probably the best quarterback we've ever had" - is the cornerstone. A 4.1 student on a 4.0 scale, he is drawing interest from Harvard, Princeton and Yale as well as three Mid-American Conference schools.

Hasenberg (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) is bright enough to handle the most elaborate offense Williams has conceived to date, one that took the Hawks time to get used to last season due to its sheer number of options.

But the players caught on. Hasenberg threw for a school-record 1,570 yards and the team averaged 5.1 touchdowns per game. Alex VanNess and Cory Brown combined for 1,100 yards and 7 touchdown receptions.

The less predictable playbook forced opponents to play Bartlett straight up against the run, which allowed the Hawks to rush for a robust 2,000 yards in the regular season. However, they were held in check yet again during last year's playoff opener, losing 14-7 to heavily favored Glenbrook South to finish the season with a record of 6-4.

But with eight starters fluent in the offensive scheme returning in 2008, the Hawks only added to their expansive playbook. Hasenberg has already thrown for 692 yards and 6 touchdowns with 1 interception, and tailback Fabian Libreri (281 yards) leads a running attack that has rushed for 556 yards. Balanced Bartlett is averaging 27.5 points a game.

Concentrate on stopping the pass and the Hawks will run. Load up to stop the run and Hasenberg will take to the air. Pick your poison.

"If one thing's not working, we go to something else," Hasenberg said. "We really base our offense on what the defense is giving us."

Meaney said a Bartlett teacher remarked to him this week how amazingly levelheaded his players are considering the team is off to a 4-0 start for the first time in school history. Meaney told the teacher the players' in-check attitudes reflect the fact they aren't satisfied yet.

Nor should they be satisfied.

Being 4-0 is great and Bartlett has reason to feel proud. But even if these Hawks win or share the Upstate Eight Conference title this season, they won't distinguish themselves from the best Bartlett teams of the past unless they advance deeper in the playoffs than the second round. Ranked No. 5 in the Class 8A poll this week, Bartlett's goal is to win a state title, not to go 9-0. That's why nobody on Schick Road is overly giddy just yet.

Good regular-season tests against St. Charles North, undefeated Thornton and Neuqua Valley await, but these Hawks won't arrive at their true proving ground until the playoffs begin in late October.

When that time comes opponents will face a diversified Bartlett offense, one that has mutated and developed new traits in recent years, one that has adapted.

Those traits weren't inherited. They evolved.

A house divided: Bartlett's matchup this week with St. Charles North is a key game in the Upstate Eight Conference race, but it holds greater implications within the household of Hawks coach Tom Meaney - bragging rights.

The Meaney family lives within the St. Charles District 303 boundaries and has three children attending St. Charles North. That makes this Saturday's Upstate Eight game the equivalent of the Meaney family Super Bowl.

Sophomore twin daughters Morgan and Catherine are varsity cheerleaders for the North Stars, and son Shawn plays football for the St. Charles North freshman team.

Shawn has filled the role of Bartlett ballboy for the last six years since his dad took over as head varsity coach. He'll be back on familiar ground today when the St. Charles North freshmen travel to Bartlett to take on the Hawks.

The Meaney family was spared a direct conflict of interest last year when Morgan and Catherine were freshmen cheering on the St. Charles North JV squad. The girls rooted for the sophomore team to beat Bartlett, which it did, then cheered for dad's varsity team, which handled the North Stars 36-6.

But as full-fledged varsity cheerleaders this fall, the girls will be cheering against dad's team.

The unusual predicament has coach Meaney enduring a week with the enemy in his own camp.

"They're in the backyard (practicing), going 'Beat the Hawks!' with the other cheerleaders that they bring over to the house. Craziness," coach Meaney said. "I opened the door one day and said 'Shut the heck up or yell something other than Hawks!' "

The girls compromised. They instead yelled "Beat the Saints," referring to rival St. Charles East.

The Meaney Civil War will take two years off after Saturday. The St. Charles North and Bartlett varsities will not face each other on the football field again until Shawn is a senior in the fall of 2011.