Mutual respect, hard work carried Bartlett a long way

Every Bartlett football practice and every postgame huddle ends with the same questions from offensive coordinator Mark Williams and the same replies spoken in unison by the players.

Williams: "If it's worth doing..."

Hawks: "Do it right"

"Success is..."

"Getting up when you've been knocked down."

"We build in the weightroom..."

"To kick (butt) on the field."

"There's a reason we've been to the playoffs nine straight years. What's the reason?"

"Hard work."

Williams always ends the drill by asking the players three times "What's our goal?"

And three times the Hawks reply in unison: "Win state."

After Bartlett fell 23-6 to Maine South in a battle of unbeatens in a Class 8A semifinal at Millennium Field in Streamwood Saturday night, Williams adjusted the talk only slightly in a highly emotional final team huddle, asking instead through tears he said he was proud to shed, "What was our goal?"

The Hawks did what they could to view the season as a success after Maine South stopped them just shy of playing for their ultimate goal in Champaign next weekend.

In the big picture, of course, Bartlett's season was a rousing success. The Hawks walked off the field disappointed, but they can be proud of what they accomplished.

In the school's 11th season of varsity football, they won the program's fourth Upstate Eight Conference title in eight seasons.

By finishing 12-1 they obliterated the previous school record of 7 wins in a season.

Most importantly, they demolished an invisible barrier by becoming the first Bartlett team to advance to a quarterfinal and a semifinal.

However, none of those achievements made the semifinal loss any easier to swallow minutes after the final horn sounded and the ride ended.

"It's the worst feeling in the world, but I'm glad I shared it with my brothers," senior defensive lineman Kyle Kirchoff said. "They're family. It's been a great four years and I love them all. It's just heartbreaking. We almost made it because we worked hard and we gave everything."

That's what made it so hard for the players to walk off the field when it was over. It's why they lingered and embraced for nearly half an hour in the cold Novermber air. This team believed it could knock off the top-ranked team in the state. But it didn't happen, and suddenly they had to say goodbye.

"I played with a lot of these guys since first grade," senior receiver Cory Brown said. "That's the team I want to play with. That's the team I want to be out here with, winning or losing. We just didn't play our best and everything happens for a reason. We played with so much heart. It's a shame we had to go down. We played old school football. I loved it."

So did Bartlett's coaches and fans.

The most memorable play of the entire game from a Bartlett perspective might have been a block thrown by tight end Matt Pashawitz against Maine South's Nick Catino, a crushing blow that knocked him out of the game for a few plays until he could get his bearings. But Maine Williams summed it all up during his final address to the players.

"Part of being a man is setting a goal, it's raising a family, buying a house, getting an education and playing football," he said. "It's about setting a goal and going after that goal every day. We weren't the biggest, we weren't the fastest, but my God we're the toughest, do you understand that?

"Yes, coach," the players replied.

"That's what we're known for. You're so tough. Everybody's so proud of you - your parents, your community, your administration and us coaches. If someday our boys can grow up to be as tough as you boys are - as parents, as fathers - we'd love to have our sons as tough as you guys and show up in the cold and in the rain and in the mud and play like men.

"Just remember that you have some men here who love you and respect you, and that's the highest honor two men can have for each other."