Bartlett remains undefeated

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STREAMWOOD -- The big Class 8A showdown between fourth-ranked Bartlett and No. 9 Thornton at Millennium Field on Saturday night turned out not to be much of a showdown at all.

After a shaky start, the Hawks had no problems living up to their lofty ranking as they passed what was expected to be their toughest test to date with flying colors by winning 28-14.

The Hawks remained undefeated at 8-0 overall and set a school record for most wins in a single season. Quarterback Josh Hasenberg had a big night, throwing for three touchdowns and running for another.

"Our kids really believe in themselves," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "They really like the pressure of being ranked and being undefeated and all that stuff.

"We told them before the game if you want to be a premier team you have to be able to stand up to the big dogs and tonight they were ready to meet the challenge."

It looked like Bartlett was going to have its hands full at the outset when Thornton (7-1) took the opening drive and marched 78 yards down the field to the Hawks' 2-yard line before Bartlett came up with a big defensive stop.

However, the Hawks weren't off the hook yet. On their first play, Fabian Libreri (21 rushes, 112 yards) fumbled the ball right back to Thornton at the 5-yard line.

But once again the defense held and forced Thornton to turn the ball over on downs.

"That was a huge turning point in the ballgame," Meaney said. "That's been our thing on defense all year. We bend and bend and bend, but we don't break."

On their second possession, the Hawks' offense got on track, engineering a 15-play, 90-yard drive that culminated with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hasenberg to Matt Pashawitz early in the second quarter.

"We wanted to send a message to the rest of the state that we are for real," Hasenberg said.

Thornton answered right back on its next possession with a 70-yard touchdown drive to tie the game at 7.

But the Hawks' defense stiffened after that, holding the Wildcats to under 100 yards of total offense the rest of the way.

"We were concerned with their speed coming in," Meaney said. "And we were concerned with the way they moved the ball on us right off the bat. But we started blitzing more, probably more than we have all year. That got them a little confused and they started checking off of what they wanted to do."

The Hawks took a 14-7 lead on a 57-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard run by Hasenberg with 7:15 left in the second quarter.

Bartlett added another touchdown just before the half when Hasenberg found Alex VanNess for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Hasenberg (10 of 20 passing, 158 yards) hooked up with Pashawitz for another 26-yard TD pass in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, 28-7.

Neuqua Valley 48, Streamwood 21 -- Noel Rivera rushed for touchdowns of 47 and 6 yards and connected with Derrick King for a 61-yard scoring pass for the Sabres (1-7, 1-5 Upstate Eight Conference).