Bartlett's Quartullo has a surprise fan at Saturday's game
Bartlett defensive lineman Joe Quartullo wasn't expecting to see his older brother Mike until after Saturday night's game against Thornton.
However, Specialist Michael Quartullo, on a four-day leave from the 33rd Infantry Brigade of the Army National Guard of Illinois, stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, wasn't about to miss his little brother's undefeated Hawks play the undefeated Wildcats.
A 2006 Bartlett graduate, Mike hustled from O'Hare Airport to Millennium Field in time to catch the first half and was able to surprise Joe at halftime.
"I had to come back and see this," said SPC Quartullo, who played three seasons of football in the Bartlett program. "Bartlett's never been this good before. When I found out from my brother that Bartlett won against Glenbard North I was ecstatic. I mean, you have to be kidding me, 8-0 and they beat Glenbard North in the first game? That's just great. I knew something different was going to happen this year."
Specialist Quartullo was warmly greeted at halftime by Bartlett coach Tom Meaney, who made sure each of his players high-fived the fatigue-clad Quartullo as they exited the field. The Quartullo brothers took a few minutes to catch up before Joe had to join his teammates for strategy sessions in the locker room.
"I knew he was coming home, and I was really excited," Joe said. "I love my brother. I actually dedicate every game to him. I wanted to make him proud, so I stepped it up today." Joe's Hawks beat Thornton 28-14.
SPC Quartullo has already served one tour of duty in Iraq. He and the 33rd Infantry will deploy to Afghanistan on Oct. 26 along with the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division.
"We're doing what we have to do," he said. "We have a lot of loved ones back here. That's honestly what I do it for. I do if for my mom and my dad and my brother and my girlfriend."
The Trojan dynasty: If Cary-Grove wins Friday at McHenry, the Trojans will complete their fourth undefeated regular season in five years and stretch their Fox Valley Conference winning streak to 33 straight.
Cary-Grove (8-0, 4-0), ranked No. 2 in Class 6A by The Associated Press, clinched its fifth straight title in the FVC last week by beating Dundee-Crown 33-6. The Trojans' only regular-season loss since 2004 came in Week 2 of last season, when Prairie Ridge won 16-14 on a 42-yard field goal at the horn.
Otherwise, Cary-Grove has enjoyed a remarkable run of 44 regular-season victories in 45 outings, dating back to Week 9 of the 2003 campaign.
Several factors have contributed to this FVC dynasty, including a knowledgeable coaching staff that has stayed intact for years and schemes on defense (3-3-5) and offense (triple option) that have remained in place since 2004.
But in the eyes of Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay, the key reason behind the program's success has been the elevated work ethic of his players.
"During this run our kids have worked a lot harder than they did in those previous years," Kay said Monday.
The Trojans received some good news late last week when the MRI on running back Alex Hembrey's knee revealed no structural damage, only a bone bruise. Hembrey will test the knee this week in practice before a decision is made as to his availability for Friday. In 4 games C-G's big-play threat has carried 41 times for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Kay said senior fullback Eric Chandler (shoulder) is doubtful for the McHenry game unless he improves during the week. Chandler is the area's second-leading rusher with 914 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Tuning in: The IHSA football pairings show will air live this Saturday night from 8-10 p.m. on these cable systems only: Comcast Network CN103, RCN Cable channel 34 and WOW Cable channels 14 (city) and 15 (suburbs).
Pairings will also be posted Saturday night at IHSA.org and at football.dailyherald.com.
They are the champions: Three teams clinched conference titles last weekend.
Hampshire (5-3, 4-0) wrapped up the Big Northern-East title with a 21-0 win over Burlington Central, Cary-Grove won the Valley Division of the Fox Valley with a 33-6 win over Dundee-Crown, and Huntley (8-0, 4-0) claimed its first FVC football title with a stirring 21-point comeback to beat Prairie Ridge 31-28 in overtime to win the Fox Division.
Bartlett (8-0, 5-0) has clinched a share of the Upstate Eight Conference and can win it outright with a victory this week at East Aurora (2-6, 1-4).
Due to the rotating schedule in the 11-team Upstate Eight, the first-place Hawks did not play second-place St. Charles East (6-2, 5-1) this season. It would have been a good matchup: Bartlett has surrendered the least amount of points in the league (105) while the Saints have scored the most (256).