Another comeback win for South Elgin
The South Elgin football team proved yet again that a strong finish beats a strong start.
Bartlett dominated South Elgin for two quarters and took a 14-0 lead to the halftime locker room of Friday's Upstate Eight Conference game at Millennium Field in Streamwood. But for the third time in 6 games, the Storm erased a 14-point deficit and emerged victorious, this time by a 17-14 margin.
The win makes South Elgin (5-1, 2-1) playoff eligible for the first time in the program's four-year history.
"I'm starting to think that's our thing," senior wide receiver Jake Kumerow said of rallying from 2-touchdowns down. "The one word that describes this team is heart. We just come out and play the second half strong every time."
The Storm didn't pick up a first down until 3:35 remained in the third quarter and still trailed 14-9 when it regained possession at its own 34-yard line after Bartlett punted with 6:10 left in game.
Junior quarterback John Menken then directed a 14-play, 66-yard scoring drive in which he completed 5-of-9 passes for 56 yards, converted a pair of third-and long passes to Domico Failla and Sheldon Chaney and ran for another first down on fourth-and-2 at the Bartlett 28-yard line with 2:50 left in the game.
Facing third-and-8 at the Hawks' 8-yard line with 1:35 left on the clock, South Elgin coach Dale Schabert called timeout. When play resumed, Menken pumped, then threw a perfect fade pass to the corner of the end zone, which the 6-foot-4 Failla caught in stride to put the Storm ahead 15-14 with 1:35 left on the clock.
"Coach came in during the timeout and told me to run a different route," Failla said. "He must've seen something on the side and adjusted. I knew I couldn't let my team down because this was one of the biggest games of the year."
Said Menken: 'They were biting on slants all the time, so we just called the play to get the fake slant and then the fade, and Domico made a great catch. I just put it up there for him and he went up there and got it."
Menken caught a 2-point conversion pass from Brad Birchfield to extend the lead to 17-14.
After a touchback, Bartlett (2-4, 1-3) drove to the South Elgin 37-yard line in 7 plays, including 4 rushes for 35 yards by junior Andy Puccini (32 carries, 127 yards, TD). However, with 16 seconds left in the game, Bartlett threw the ball deep down the sideline and Storm junior cornerback Robbie Green made a game-clinching interception at the 10-yard line with 9.2 seconds remaining.
"When the ball was in the air I felt everything around me just stopped and the ball kept coming slowly, slowly, slowly," said Green. "It was a rush."
Bartlett dominated the first half with a consistent, clock-eating ground attack. The Hawks held the ball for 19:17 of a possible 24 minutes behind the rushing of Puccini and Aaron Thabuteau (8 carries, 42 yards), and the defense limited the Storm to 13 offensive snaps for 9 total yards.
Bartlett overcame 4 penalties on its first drive to march 59 yards in 14 plays, capped by quarterback A.J. Bilyeu's 1-yard keeper with 1:26 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks fumbled on their second possession, but they widened their lead to 14-0 when Puccini capped a 16-play, 57-yard drive with a 2-yard scoring run with 10 seconds left in the first half.
"We didn't particularly have a great first half with the penalties and dropped balls and dropped interceptions," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "We should have been up more, really, but we just didn't capitalize on their mistakes."
The Hawks could have delivered a knockout punch in the third quarter after Thabuteau returned the kickoff 84 yards to the South Elgin 7-yard line. However, a fumble on the exchange gave the Storm a reprieve.
The South Elgin offense awoke in the third quarter and marched 69-yards in 8 plays, capped by Birchfield's 18-yard second effort after he was nearly stopped behind the line of scrimmage. A missed extra point attempt left the score 14-6, but kicker David Reisner made amends with a 28-yard field goal with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter, which set up the dramatic finish.
"I've been coaching football for 25 years and that's one of the most disappointing finishes we've had," Meaney said. "We just had a poor second half. We'd have them third-and-long or fourth-and-something and we just couldn't make a stop."