Can Bartlett pull off an Appalachian State?

The uniforms worn by the Glenbrook South football team are identical to those of the University of Michigan, right down to the maize-striped helmets.

For No. 13 Bartlett (6-3) to pull the upset of No. 4 Glenbrook South (8-1) tonight at John Davis Stadium in Glenview in a Class 8A first-round playoff game at 7 p.m., the Hawks might have to channel some Appalachian State magic.

"They're just a solid team that doesn't make mistakes," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said of the Titans. "They're mostly a running team, but they can pass when they want to."

Glenbrook South (8-1) does most of its running out of the wing-T offense of head coach Mike Noll, who has led teams to the playoffs 19 of the last 20 seasons, including 16 straight seasons at McHenry. He has guided Glenbrook South to the playoffs three straight seasons after going 4-5 in his first year, 2004.

Glenbrook South's main ball carrier is running back Justin Klise, who carried 19 times for 164 yards and scored the winning touchdown last week in a 24-20 victory over playoff-bound New Trier. Klise has 826 yards and 11 touchdowns on 126 carries (6.6 yards per carry).

Meaney said Glenbrook South quarterback Ryan McGrath reminds him physically of record-setting Larkin quarterback Cam Kinley, though McGrath's numbers a far more modest. The senior has completed 95-of-153 pass attempts for 1,320 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has thrown 6 interceptions.

Noll's formula for winning football games hasn't changed much since he left McHenry.

"I think like in any football game, you have to control the line of scrimmage, make big plays and whoever makes the fewest mistakes usually wins," Noll said. "Bartlett is a good football team, and we'll have to play well to beat them."

"Their quarterback (Josh Hasenberg) looks like a good athlete on film. He can run a bit and he moves around pretty well. We've seen a lot of quarterbacks like that. This must be the year of the quarterback, I think. And he has some good receivers to throw the ball to. We also have to try to stop their running game. They're big up front and they come at you hard."

This is a step up in class for Bartlett, which faced only four eventual playoff qualifiers. Bartlett's best win was a 33-22 victory in Week 2 against an Oswego squad that finished 7-2.

Glenbrook South played five playoff qualifiers, losing only a 28-21 decision in Week 7 to Maine South (8-1).

All season long the Bartlett staff has commended the development of its talented junior class, which dominates the roster. If that group truly is "special" as the coaches have hinted, an unexpected playoff victory could be the result.

"They have a year of varsity experience under their belt and we expect them to play like seniors now," Meaney said. "With all the playing time they've gotten, we expect big things from them.

"We just need to get some turnovers and not make any."