Schaumburg's drive finally stops Hoffman

Schaumburg's drive for five didn't quite have the start many would have figured Friday night against winless Hoffman Estates.

The 3-3 Saxons saw their playoff hopes teetering a bit at halftime as they were clinging to a 4-point lead at Gary Scholz Stadium. Hoffman had produced an inspired performance as it was running its tricky triple option the way it had envisioned with the junior duo of quarterback David Gutierrez and running back Michael Reeves.

"I'm not looking forward to defending those two next year," Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said after they combined for 283 yards rushing.

But for this year, Schaumburg may have faced its most important possession to start the second half. A quick three-and-out would add even more energy into the increasingly confident Hawks.

The Saxons proceeded to smash out 61 yards on 13 plays in a little more than 51/2 minutes to put them on their way to a 30-12 victory.

"The first drive of the second half, we absolutely flattened their defense," said Schaumburg senior offensive lineman Richard Barnes. "That first drive defined the rest of the game for us."

Maybe the season, too, if the Saxons (4-3, 2-1) want to have a chance of duplicating last year's playoff run to the Class 8A state quarterfinals. A slip here would leave them no margin for error going into their final two games.

But Barnes, Mario Echevarria, Eddy Batres, Johnathon Moore and Nick Nykaza led the way to a 5-yard touchdown run by quarterback Mark Iannotti. The junior also ran for a 7-yard score on the Saxons' first possession and 80 yards overall and was 12-for-17 for 187 yards passing.

"They've got weapons everywhere," said Hoffman coach Bill Helzer. "I was happy with the way the kids contained (Warren) Brewer. We wanted to contain Brewer and make them have to go somewhere else and they did."

Dionte Hackler looked as if he was going nowhere but for a loss late in the first half on a third-down pass from Iannotti. Then he squirted loose on the right side and was racing to an 80-yard touchdown for a 16-6 lead.

But Hoffman (0-7, 0-3) showed the fight not all teams without a win have this time of year. Gutierrez, making only his third varsity start at quarterback after a foot injury and first directly under center, deftly worked the ball to gain 193 yards on 28 carries and spring Reeves for 90 yards on 20 attempts and first-half touchdowns of 11 and 6 yards.

"I'm not about moral victories, but that was the best half of football we've played all year," Helzer said after the Hawks had 231 of their season-high 295 yards behind Jacob Uhunmwangho, Alex Kim, Alex Knapik, Carlos Tapia and Boris Tomas.

"Switching under center really helped," Gutierrez said after rushing for 170 first-half yards. "Everything was so much quicker and easier for us to execute. This was exactly how it was supposed to be and exactly how we're supposed to execute."

But the Hawks were limited to just 12 offensive plays in the first 20 minutes of the second half. They had to go for it on fourth-and-3 at their own 18 late and were stopped short, which led to a clinching 4-yard touchdown run by Brewer (60 of his 78 yards in the second half).

While Hoffman looks to build on the first half for next year, Schaumburg wants to sustain what it did in the first half make sure it's playing beyond Week 9 this year.

"One thing we have to battle is our complacency as a team," Barnes said. "As a team we can see our potential and how great of a team we can be.

"Our focus is getting the fifth win to get to the playoffs and getting the sixth win and continuing to keep going. We have the ability to be an excellent football team but something we have to battle is consistency on both sides of the ball."

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com