Tough break for Bartlett
The conditions hindered what the Bartlett football team wanted to do offensively Friday night.
They also caused the crucial turnover that cost the Hawks a chance at a playoff victory.
A fumbled center-to-quarterback exchange early in the fourth quarter led to Glenbrook South's go-ahead touchdown as the Titans beat the Hawks, 14-7, in Glenview in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.
"It slipped right through my hands," Hawks junior quarterback Josh Hasenberg said. "The ball was soaked. I should have gotten a different ball."
Bartlett (6-4), a No. 13 seed, had the ball at the Titans' 16-yard line for the first play of the fourth quarter with the game tied at 7-7. But Hasenberg couldn't get a grip on the snap and Glenbrook South's John Fiorentino recovered the ball at the 12.
"If we got it 14-7, now they're on their heels," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "I don't know what happened."
No. 4 seed Glenbrook South (9-1) ran the ball 10 consecutive plays and had a 3rd-and-5 from its own 49. Quarterback Ryan McGrath hit Devin Henderson over the middle and the tight end outran the Hawks' defense for a 51-yard touchdown with a 6:19 remaining in the game.
"(Henderson) makes plays when we need them," Glenbrook South coach Mike Noll said. "We kind of count on that."
Before the rain that consistently fell from the end of the first quarter until the middle of the fourth quarter, the Hawks move the ball effectively. Bartlett took the opening possession 86 yards on 14 plays to take a 7-0 lead. The Hawks converted four third downs on the drive. The final third-down conversion came when Hasenberg hit Greg Partyka for a 10-yard touchdown with 4:35 left in the first quarter.
"Everything was just clicking," Hasenberg said of the first drive. "Everything that we wanted to happen was happening."
Glenbrook South responded with a 15-play drive, but a fourth-and-goal pass from the 4 was incomplete.
The Titans tied the game at 7-7 with 3:55 remaining in the first half as Justin Klise scored on a 15-yard run off left tackle.
After the Titans took the lead in the fourth quarter, a screen pass from Hasenberg to Vinnie Libreri would have given the Hawks the ball inside Glenbrook South's territory, but a block-in-the-back penalty negated the play. Bartlett eventually converted on third down anyway, but Hasenberg's scramble on fourth-and-10 only gained 5 yards and turned the ball over on downs with 3:13 left.
Glenbrook South ran the clock out to advance to the second round against the winner of today's New Trier at Maine South game.
The Hawks managed only 88 yards of offense after their opening drive.
"We wanted to come out and mix (the offense) real well," said Hasenberg, who was only 3-for-6 passing for 24 yards. "The rain just took that out of the game."