Bartlett's depth does in Hoffman Estates
Bartlett put on a display of depth on Friday night at Hoffman Estates' Dennis Garber Stadium.
Five different players scored touchdowns for Bartlett on its way to a 47-0 victory.
The players crossing into the end zone were quarterback A.J. Bilyeu, wide receiver Zach Konstanzer (twice), and running backs Christopher Cruz (twice), Aaron Thabuteau and Ardale Gutierrez.
There was a lot of rotation at running back for Bartlett, with six different backs carrying the ball throughout the game.
"We have several running backs that are all good, and all fighting for playing time," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "The kids are fighting for each yard, and they were all running pretty hard tonight.
"We haven't had any real set starter. I put a starting lineup out there tonight for whoever wanted it, but it's still an open competition for us at running back."
A major highlight of the night came in the second quarter when Konstanzer, a senior, burst through a seam in the middle of the field for a lightning quick 60-yard punt return touchdown.
"I have some great blockers in the Crains (seniors Mike and James) and we had a sophomore, Zach Karys, make a huge pancake block, which really set it off," Konstanzer said. "So it just opened it and I took advantage of it."
Outside of a 66-yard run by senior running back Foyin Alade, Hoffman didn't have much offensive success on Friday night.
Hoffman coach Bill Helzer said his team needs to do a better job taking care of the ball if it is going to get better. Hoffman lost three fumbles on Friday.
"We now know the level of competition," Helzer said. "We now know how hard we have to work every week in practice. If we don't learn from that, then it was a waste of four quarters of football. Against a team like that, you've got to play perfect."