Lake Park comeback stuns Bartlett

When they talked after Friday's 27-23 victory over Bartlett, Lake Park's players and coaches used words like "defining" and "statement."

This was a regular season finale in which host Bartlett had so much momentum through the first half that a Lancers recovery seemed improbable. And then the Hawks (3-6, 1-5 Upstate Eight) controlled much of the third quarter and built a 23-7 lead. But somehow, the Lancers (7-2, 6-1) crafted a victory.

"I love this team," Lake Park back Jake McNamara said. "We've got a lot of heart."

Lake Park showed its ability to get big plays at every moment when they it really needed them.

First there was a 91-yard kickoff return by Artie Monaco. Then there was a key interception by Alex Fischer that set the Lancers with first and goal from the Bartlett 7-yard line. From there, Lake Park needed 3 plays to score - plays which ran its second half total to 5 plays run from scrimmage through 9 minutes of play.

Then after getting the ball with 3:43 and organizing its best drive of the game, the Lancers called the winning play. With most expecting Monaco to get the ball on 2nd-and-4 from the Bartlett 26, Lake Park ran a draw play to Jake McNamara. And with a hole the size of a school bus to move through. McNamara raced to the end zone. The Lancers held out the remaining 75 seconds - the only moments in the game they led.

"It's tough but we came through," McNamara said. "It's a great team win. Special teams helped us a lot."

Lake Park was frustrated on offense for much of the game. In the first half, the Lancers gained 85 yards, with 61 coming on one play. But that one play was a 61-yard TD pass from George Herrmann to Monaco.

Monaco struggled to find rushing room and finished with 37 yards on 17 carries. But his threat was ever-present, which helped when McNamara got the ball for the game-winning TD run.

"Artie's a heck of an athlete," McNamara said. "He can really run the ball. They keyed on him and our line stepped up and made good blocks."

None of that would have mattered if Lake Park's defense hadn't found a way to stop Bartlett quarterback A.J. Bilyeu, who threw for 200 yards and ran for one of the Hawks touchdowns. In the event, interceptions by Fischer and later Luke O'Connor helped blunt Bartlett's potent attack.

"It's a team effort," Fischer said. "We go out there on defense and everybody sticks together. They've got my back and I've got theirs. That was what I was trying to do there, to help my team."

While Lake Park's defense was on the field much of the second half, they never let Bartlett extend is lead to a point at which a comeback would have been impossible.

"We know that at some point, our offense it going to pick it up," Fischer said. "We just had to stick it them through the game."

The game was tough for Bartlett's seniors, who have endured some difficult losses this year. Friday's loss was the team's fourth by 7 points or less.

"We lost so many close games," Bartlett tight end Greg Partyka said. "I'm just going to miss everything. Their defense stepped up and we couldn't make the plays at the end like we wanted to. It's been three years I'll never forget though."

"What it comes down to is that we did what we were supposed to," Bartlett receiver Zach Konstanzer said. "We had a little bad luck, but we tried the best we could."