Bartlett sneaks past ND in opener
On a night when the normally explosive Bartlett offense nearly imploded, smothering defense allowed the Hawks to avoid a first-round playoff upset.
Bartlett's offense turned the ball over 4 times, but the defense picked off 3 passes and limited No. 16 Niles Notre Dame to 124 total yards in a 10-7 victory in a Class 8A playoff game at Millennium Field on Friday.
No. 1 Bartlett will host No. 8 Fremd next week. Fremd (8-2) defeated No. 9 Palatine 24-7 Friday.
"Our offense had trouble, but our defense played awesome," Bartlett senior defensive tackle Kyle Kirchoff said. "I can't say enough about our defense."
Bartlett (10-0) dominated the first half statistically, but 3 turnovers kept the Dons within 3-0 at the intermission. The Hawks outgained Notre Dame (5-5) 140-24 and held the Dons to a lone first down, but they fumbled the ball away twice in Notre Dame territory, at the 37-yard line and again at the 25.
The only points in the first half came off the foot of Bartlett kicker Dan Karys, who booted a 37-yard field goal with 3:33 left in the first quarter. His kick was the culmination of a 44-yard drive.
But not every Bartlett drive ended so well. Karys came up short on a 39-yard field goal in the second quarter, and quarterback Josh Hasenberg was intercepted on Bartlett's next possession at his own 44-yard line, though the defense eventually forced the Dons to punt.
Overthrows, dropped passes, fumbles and an interception - not the normal recipe for a Bartlett team that averages 32.3 points per game.
"It was great for my teammates to come and pick me up," said Hasenberg, who completed 5-of-14 attempts for 69 yards. "Our defense was really outstanding today, and I have to give their defense credit, too. They strategized well and really knew what to do. I had a couple of open receivers early and missed them, overthrew them a little bit. In a game like this you need to hit those little plays."
Bartlett knocked Notre Dame starting quarterback Eric Hennessey out of the game on the Dons' opening possession of the second half, but Notre Dame backup Drew Diaz kept the drive moving with 2 completions. However, on third-and-4 from the Bartlett 21, Diaz threw to the end zone and was intercepted by Mike Banks for a touchback.
"We were in cover-3 and I had the deep third," Banks said. "(The receiver) had me beat, but I turned around and looked and caught up to him and I was able to make the interception."
Following a Bartlett punt, linebacker Kyle Zelinsky intercepted Diaz at the Notre Dame 30-yard line after the pass was tipped by Mike Partyka. However, the Hawks fumbled the ball away for a third time at the 20-yard line 7 plays later.
The Bartlett offense finally got it together for a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. After taking over at the Notre Dame 42 after a punt, the Hawks used 7 plays - helped by a pass interference penalty - and Fabian Libreri make it 10-0 with a 1-yard run with 7:04 left in the game.
Notre Dame answered immediately with its only scoring drive of the game - a 71-yard drive consisting of 8 straight completions by Hennessey, who returned to action. Pat Lazzara pulled the Dons within 10-7 with 4:48 to play with a 24-yard reception over the middle.
"We went to the full-court press with no backs," Notre Dame coach Mike Hennessey said. "In hindsight you could say we should have done that earlier, but I don't know if it would have made any difference. Bartlett played well defensively."
The Bartlett offense then ran out the clock with 2 crucial first downs - a 16-yard tight end screen to Greg Partyka, and a sneak by Hasenberg on fourth-and-1 at the Notre Dame 41-yard line with 1:45 to play.
"I was happy with the defensive effort, especially the first three quarters," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "We just didn't play very good offensively. We dropped a couple of balls that we normally catch, guys were open and we overthrow them. It happens sometimes. Sometimes you have an off game."