Bartlett dumps Streamwood to keep playoff hopes alive

After a 1-4 start to the 2015 season, the Bartlett football team has nearly completed its turnaround, and appears to be peaking at just the right time.

“A three-game winning streak is always nice,” Hawks coach Tom Meaney said after his charges rolled up 502 total yards in defeating Streamwood 50-6 in an Upstate Eight crossover matchup at Millennium Field Friday night. “We're trying to get things to go together. Offense is running real well.”

Senior tailback Nolan Bernat rushed for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns — all but 5 yards in the first half alone — to propel Bartlett to a 4-4 record and chance to become playoff eligible with a victory over Glenbard East in Week 9. East lost to West Aurora 31-28 in overtime Friday.

“We've got Glenbard East (next), and they have a heck of a passing offense, so we've got to buckle down our defense. We've just got to play all-around defense. If we win, we're in,” Meaney said.

The way things are going for the Hawks, they could very well be the team nobody wants to play in the first round of the playoffs. They scored on all 5 of their first-half possessions Friday to take a 37-6 halftime lead that made the second half essentially academic.

Bernat did his part by scoring on runs of 3, 10, 8 and 18 yards. He even picked off a pass on defense late in the second quarter that set up his last scoring run, a dash up the middle with 12 seconds left, the culmination of a 3-play, 80-yard drive that took just 31 seconds.

“He's really fast hitting the hole,” Meaney said. “He's one of the fastest kids in the Upstate Eight. If we give him a crease, he can make things happen.”

“Tonight felt great,” added Bernat. “The O-line did a fantastic job opening up holes, and we put it in the end zone. It's always great to score. It feels good to celebrate the with the team and get a team win.”

Senior quarterback Brenner Wallace was his usual solid self, completing 14 of 22 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, a 15-yarder to fellow senior Jacob Majewski with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. Majewski, one of 8 receivers Brenner targeted Friday, led the Hawks with 46 yards on 3 receptions.

But it wasn't all fun and games for Bartlett. The team honored the memory of senior Adnan Azeemullah, who died Wednesday in a motorcycle crash in Elgin. Azeemullah's No. 90 jersey was carried by teammates onto the field for the coin toss as an honorary captain, and then stationed on the Bartlett bench during the game. There was also a moment of silence.

Across the field, first-year Streamwood coach Don Guindon saw his team's playoff hopes evaporate with the loss, but credited Bartlett with a job well done.

“They dominated the game the whole time,” said Guindon, whose team fell to 3-5 and will finish its season next week by facing Upstate Eight River leader Batavia. “They did a great job on both sides of the ball, dominating the line of scrimmage. They looked very, very good tonight.

“I thought we would have played a little bit more competitively. I knew they were a good team. I thought we'd be a little more competitive, being away at home, a little bit of a rivalry game. They did a great job kind of taking the game away from us.”

After Bartlett opened the game by going 64 yards in 8 plays, ending in a 3-yard Bernat run up the middle, Streamwood returned the favor by going 56 yards in 13 plays, highlighted by 5-for-8 passing by sophomore quarterback Brendon Marton. He completed the drive by hitting senior Keagan Cordone with a 9-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone.

But things unraveled from there for the Sabres. Marton went 16-for-33 passing for 173 yards, but also threw 3 interceptions — all deep in Bartlett territory. His favorite target was senior Brian “Nino” Adkins, who caught 9 passes for 110 yards.

“This game we were working for since Day 1 of summer camp,” Adkins said. “We have a thing on our wall that says ‘Beat Bartlett,' days until Bartlett, hours, minutes. We just didn't get the job done.”

Cordone had 6 catches for 54 yards, while senior linebacker Jake Painter had an interception.