Bartlett snaps its skid, tops Streamwood
Two dominating drives and two timely takeaways Friday night were just what the Bartlett football team needed to break a three-game losing streak.
After Streamwood tied the game with just over 3 minutes left in the first half, the Hawks scored on four of their next five drives to take a big lead en route to a 38-14 Upstate Eight Conference victory over the Sabres at Millennium Field.
"We made some mistakes, especially penalty-wise," said Hawks coach Tom Meaney of the first half. "The kids fought through it."
The Sabres (1-4, 0-3) tied the game at 7-7 with 3:03 remaining in the first half as Nick Pryor hit Derrick King for a 5-yard touchdown. Bartlett started its next drive on its 42-yard line and marched 58 yards on 7 plays in less than 2 minutes, capped by A.J. Bilyeu's second touchdown pass of the game, an 8-yard strike to Zach Karys for a 14-7 lead with 1:06 left in the first half.
"That was the best drive we've had all year," Meaney said.
The Hawks got the ball to open the second half and went on an 11-play, 66-yard drive that took more than 5 1/2 minutes off the clock. Junior running back Aaron Thabuteau took a screen pass 11 yards for a touchdown to finish the drive and give Bartlett a 21-7 lead.
"The coaches told us to come out in the second half and play hard," said Thabuteau, who finished with 141 yards rushing. "The game wasn't over. They were only down a touchdown."
Streamwood, which turned the ball over three times, fumbled on its next drive after getting into Bartlett territory and the Hawks recovered. On the next play, Thabuteau scampered 53 yards for a touchdown.
Two Streamwood possessions later, the Hawks' Will DeCoste returned an interception to the Sabres' 3-yard line. Luke O'Connor scored on the next play with 11:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
"The last few weeks we've kind of done the same thing," Sabres coach Cal Cummins We came out and played some good ball in the first half. But when you wear down, you lose those little things. All of sudden you turn the ball over, you miss a block here, miss a tackle there and those turn into big plays."
A 35-yard field goal by the Hawks' Alex Busch made the score 38-7 with 8:38 left. The Sabres' Alex Morrow scored on a 2-yard run with 4:13 left to complete the scoring.
Pryor was making his first start at quarterback, replacing the injured Dalton Lundeen. The junior was 9-for-12 passing for 116 yards. But the Sabres were held to 44 yards rushing on 34 attempts.
Bilyeu, a sophomore, was 10-of-14 for 173 yards and three touchdowns for Bartlett.