The confidence is back at Hoffman Estates
You can feel it in Hoffman Estates, sense it along the Hawks' sideline and hear it in their whoops after the postgame meeting.
The Hawks have confidence and for them, it feels good.
It also feels like three wins, the third coming Friday night at home in a tougher-than-it-looked 22-0 win against Prospect.
At 3-0, the Hawks are believing in themselves.
"Coach (Mike) Donatucci brings accountability," quarterback Jeff Mayes said of everyone banding together.
The Hawks had Prospect under control by game's end, rushing for 218 yards, including Mayes' 9 for a third-quarter TD.
Mayes credited the offensive line for his production, along with that of Connor McCreary (22 carries, 87 yards) and Chady Bitre (13 carries, 88 yards).
Mayes helped with his TD scamper, preceded by his 12-yard run on fourth down to save a short drive after a Will Cage interception and 31-yard return.
What Mayes really liked was his team's resilience.
Every mistake eventually got erased, including his own two picks.
"There's a lot of room for improvement," Mayes said. "I can't be forcing things or making bad decisions."
Donatucci, for his part, would like to see the team capitalize when it gets chances.
"We've got to be more physical at the point of attack," Donatucci said, although you'd have hardly known that the way Bitre and McCreary ran. "Connor's the workhorse. Chady chipped in. Coach (Lew) Miskowicz does a great job with the backs."
Mayes also found Andrew Vesper for a 23-yard TD after a penalty pushed the Hawks out of a first-and-goal at the 9. He had opened the scoring with a 23-yarder to Brandon Hall, passes made possible by the success of the running game.
Prospect missed a golden chance when a 9-play drive ended with Cage's pick of Matt Drew. The talented junior struggled against Hoffman's aggressive defense, as Michael Baureis and Gilberto Alicea kept the pressure on.
Knights sophomore running back Andrew Shafis (15 carries, 72 yards) looked good as Prospect rushed for 119 yards.
"We had a lot of chances," said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen after his team suffered 2 interceptions and 11 penalties for 94 yards.
He felt the difference was Hoffman recovering from its mistakes, which his team didn't do.
"When we shot ourselves in the foot, we didn't recover well," said Sebestyen.
The Knights got strong defensive efforts from Dema Govalia, Anthony Bongiorno, who had a pick, and Mike O'Malley, who made it tough on Hoffman receivers.
"The defense kept us in the ballgame," Sebestyen said.
The mentality won it for Hoffman, now 3-0 for the first time since 1994 and assured of a three-win season for the first time since 2001.
"We've prepared all off-season for this," Mayes said. "We feel like we can play with anybody."