Fourth-ranked Hawks avoid huge upset

Wrigley Field plays host to today's Winter Classic when the Blackhawks take on Detroit.
M. Spencer Green | AP

November 1, 2008 By SCOTT MILLER For The Courier News

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STREAMWOOD -- Everybody from the Bartlett football program was breathing a big sigh of relief on Friday night.

The Hawks, the top-seeded team in the Class 8A upper playoff bracket, survived a real Halloween scare from Niles Notre Dame and pulled out 10-7 win in opening-round action at Millennium Field.

The victory snaps a string of three straight losses in the first round of the playoffs for Bartlett (10-0), which is ranked fourth in the 8A state poll.

"We knew they were going to be tough, especially on defense," said Bartlett coach Tom Meaney. "Their front seven gave us some real problems, and our offense just didn't have a very good night. But I was real happy with the way the defense stepped up and came through for us."

The game certainly lived up to its billing as a defensive struggle. Bartlett held Notre Dame (5-5) to just two yards rushing for the game and allowed just one first-half first down. The Hawks also recorded five quarterback sacks.

"We knew being the No. 1 seed, there would be a target on our back," said Bartlett linebacker Kyle Zelinsky. "A lot of people think we're overrated, but we're out to prove those people wrong. We knew it might be a low-scoring game, so the defense was going to have to take care of its business.

"I can't say enough about the way the guys in front of me on the defensive line played. They did a great job of filling the gaps."

Bartlett defensive tackle Kyle Kirchoff had 2Â½ sacks.

"We haven't been getting a very good pass rush the last couple games," said Kirchoff. "So we just worked hard on firing off the ball. The whole defense played great. The linebackers had our backs, and the defensive backs came up with some big plays."

A 37-yard field goal in the first quarter by the Hawks' Dan Karys was the only scoring until the fourth quarter. That's when Bartlett was finally able to reach the end zone. The Hawks had four drives in the game that started in Notre Dame territory, but it wasn't until the fourth time that they were able to take advantage of the field position.

After the defense pinned the Dons deep in their own territory and forced a punt, Bartlett took possession at the Notre Dame 42-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Five plays later, Fabian Libreri scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:04 left to play to give the Hawks a 10-0 cushion. It was vindication for Libreri, who had coughed up the ball twice on fumbles deep in Notre Dame territory.

Quarterback Josh Hasenberg had a key 19-yard run and Corleon Richardson added an 11-yard run during the drive.

Notre Dame answered back with its only successful drive of the night. The Dons drove 70 yards on a series of eight straight short passes to pull to within 10-7 with 4:48 left to play.

However, the Hawks were able to run out the clock on their next possession. Hasenberg, who had a tough night passing completing just 5 of 16 attempts, came up with two big plays. He had a 16-yard completion to Jake Thomas for one first down, and then had a one-yard quarterback sneak on a fourth-down play with 1:45 remaining that gave the Hawks another first down and secured the win.

The Hawks had 155 hard-fought yards on the ground. Richardson led the way with 89 yards on 12 carries.

The Hawks will welcome No. 8 Fremd (7-2) next week after the Vikings defeated No. 9 Palatine 24-7 Friday night. Fremd sports a dominating defense that picked off five Pirates passes in the victory.