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South Elgin now playoff eligible; Bartlett out

There was more at stake than just bragging rights when Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division rivals Bartlett and South Elgin met on the gridiron Friday night at Millennium Field.

The Hawks came in needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Storm needed a win to clinch playoff eligibility before facing a tough Waubonsie Valley team in the final week.

Although Bartlett's defense held South Elgin to a season-low 292 total yards, the Storm (5-3, 4-2) came out victorious, 21-7, knocking the Hawks (3-5, 2-4) out of the playoffs for the second straight season.

It was definitely a different type of game for us," Storm coach Pat Pistorio said. "We're not used to that, but our guys kept fighting."

Pistorio was referring to his team being shutout in the first half and facing a 7-0 deficit at the break. The Storm had been shutout in only one quarter all season.

However, Kyle Ware broke out in the second half rushing for 96 of his 124 yards with 3 TDs. His first came on a 4-yard carry tying the game with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

Derek Kumerow had one of the Storm's 3 interceptions with 8:36 left in the fourth quarter which set up a 3-play, 54-yard drive capped by a 29-yard TD run by Ware.

"The second half, we had a talk in the locker room," Ware said. "We had to refocus, come back. We just came out with some energy."

Ware added an 8-yard TD run with 1:03 on the clock, and Andrew Kamienski picked off Bartlett QB Brenner Wallace (9-for-20, 82 yards) to end the game.

Nolan Bernat had 116 rushing yards in the first half and a 57-yard TD run with 1:34 left before break. He was held to just 3 rushing yards in the second half.

Bartlett's defense, led by senior Daniel Danek and junior Kyle Sanft, applied pressure to Storm QB Hayden Nelson throughout the first half. South Elgin was held to 60 total yards in that half and Nelson was 2-for-8.

"The defense played good for about three and a half quarters," Hawks' coach Tom Meaney said. "We struggled to stop their run late in the game."

Nelson threw his second pick of the night to Bartlett's Ryan DiCanio on his first pass attempt of the second half. He bounced back to finish with 130 yards in a 13-for-24 performance.

Bartlett will play for pride against winless East Aurora next week. South Elgin, now playoff eligible, can clinch an automatic postseason spot with a win against Waubonsie Valley (7-1, 5-1).

"I'm proud of my seniors, proud of their work," Meaney said. "Our seniors haven't had a winning season and we really wanted to get them one. We just couldn't pull one out tonight."

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