Bartlett boots Saxons
Bartlett's undefeated Hawks advanced to semifinals of the Class 8A football playoffs, but the outcome of their quarterfinal game at Schaumburg on Saturday wasn't quite as safe as it seemed at halftime.
Bartlett's 28-0 halftime lead melted into a 35-35 tie with 1:26 left in the fourth quarter thanks to a second-half surge by Schaumburg's special teams and rejuvenated offense. But the No. 1 seeded Hawks (12-0) regained their composure for one last game-winning drive.
Quarterback Josh Hasenberg directed the Hawks 69 yards in 7 plays to get into field goal position, and senior Dan Karys booted his first-ever game-winning field goal from 25 yards out with 7.4 seconds left, lifting Bartlett to a thrilling 38-35 victory.
Bartlett will play at home next weekend against No. 2 seed Maine South, a 42-0 winner at Barrington.
Hasenberg and receiver Alex Van Ness hooked up on a 45-yard completion that moved the Hawks from their own 43 down to the Saxons' 12.
"I gave a little pump fake, and (the defensive back) bit on it," Hasenberg said. "He was wide open."
"We try to do it every game," Van Ness said. "When they bite hard, we go deep."
A 6-yard run by Corleon Richardson moved the ball to the 6, and Karys split the uprights.
"I was happy it was close," Karys said. "(My teammates) just said 'keep your head down.' They do that before every kick."
Hasenberg (8 of 13 for 128 yards) had a hand in all of Bartlett's first-half touchdowns. A pair of 1-yard sneaks in the first quarter gave the Hawks a 14-0 lead. He connected with Van Ness for a 32-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter to make it 21-0, and his 25-yard run on a bootleg gave the Hawks a 28-0 lead with 42.7 seconds left in the half.
The second half - at least most of it - belonged to Schaumburg (7-5). Diante Hackler returned the second-half kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown, and after Fabian Libreri (15 carries, 116 yards) answered with a 3-yard touchdown run, the Saxons found themselves down 35-7 with 8:35 left in the third.
Anthony Iannotti and Hackler hooked up for a 15-yard scoring pass to make it 35-14 with 1:07 left in the third quarter. Schaumburg's onside kick was recovered by Vito Perrino, and Iannotti (18-of-31 for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns) hit Josh Spandiary (8 catches for 64 yards) with a 25-yard scoring pass, cutting the margin to 35-21 with 11:19 left in the game.
After a three-and-out by Bartlett, Schaumburg drove 64 yards in 10 plays, the final 5 coming on a run by Iannotti (95 yards on 17 carries) with 6:12 remaining.
Spandiary recovered a second successful onside kick for Schaumburg, and the Saxons drove 48 yards in 13 plays. Spandiary caught the 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:26 remaining.
"On the last (onside kick), we were going to kick it (deep) and play defense, but a couple of captains talked me into doing it again," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling.
"If you get happy at halftime, you let your guard down, and think about other things," said Bartlett coach Tom Meaney. "The second half was kind of ugly.
"Our defense was on the field way too long in the second half," Meaney said. "They are explosive and have lots of weapons."
"The way we played in the second half personifies what we are about as a program," Stilling said. "I couldn't be prouder of the way they battled. Lesser people would have given up."
Schaumburg's Shepard Little gained 90 yards on 19 carries.