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Barrington denies Hoffman Estates' playoff aspirations

With a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994, the Hoffman Estates football team came out firing Friday.

The Hawks forced 3 turnovers in the first half, including a blocked punt that was ran back for a touchdown, while also stopping Barrington from scoring twice, after they got within 10 yards of the end zone.

With 2 scores in a little over a minute in the third quarter, Barrington (8-1, 4-1 Mid-Suburban West) was able to shift the momentum to overcome an 11-point half time deficit to pull out a 29-18 victory to claim a share of the Mid-Suburban West title with Palatine.

"We were down in the first half and it looked like Hoffman was coming out hot," Barrington junior defensive lineman Jackson Perkins said. "When we came into halftime no one had their head down, no one was discouraged. We knew if we just did our job and kept pounding and kept adjusting and all that stuff we would win the game."

Not long ago Hoffman Estates (4-5, 2-3) seemed like a long shot to make the postseason, hitting a tough stretch in the schedule with a 2-4 record. But after victories against Fremd and Conant, Hoffman Estates brought the momentum to Barrington.

"We knew after we loss a few weeks ago, we knew we had to win every single game going forward," said senior Hoffman Estates receiver Brandon Hall, who finished with 98 yards on 9 receptions. "So it was more just believing. No one expected us to win any games so we are just proud to go as far as we did."

The Hawks came out strong defensively in the first half and held an 18-7 halftime lead. Byron Williams and La'Mere Barnes each forced fumbles, while Zavior Stolpa returned a blocked kick 15 yards for a touchdown.

Barnes' fumble recovery after a sack by Thomas Krawiec set up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jayvon Blissett from Keegan Pierce with 1:22 left in the half.

Twice Barrington got within the Hawks' 10-yard line but was stopped. The first time Dante Cleveland had a sack on fourth down. The second time Jakub Wiater had back-to-back tackles for a loss to end the drive.

"We figured if we came out and hit them and came out with an impact, that it would help us and they wouldn't expect it," Hall said. "We did, but we settled and they took advantage."

Hoffman Estates started the second half with an interception by Anijel Jones, but after that it was Barrington creating opportunities on defense and special teams.

In less than two minutes, Nate King had touchdown runs of 11 and 2 yards. After the first score, Barrington kicked the ball high in the air about 40 yards downfield, where Zack Rizzio was able to make a recovery to set up King's second score.

"That was the game right there," Hoffman Estates coach Mike Donatucci said. "To beat Barrington you can't have lapses, even if it is only two minutes."

Perkins said it was all about executing what they practiced during the week.

"Big credit to Zack Rizzio, we do that in practice every day," Perkins said. "It looks like it is luck to everyone on the sidelines but we practice that."

Perkins sealed the game in the fourth, recovering a fumble and returning it 12 yards for a touchdown. Robby Holland added some insurance with an interception late to let the offense take more time off the clock.

Barrington also managed to hold Chady Bitre to 28 yards in the second half, after he ran for 73 in the first two quarters.

"It all just comes down to manning up and playing your gap," Perkins said.

Despite wet conditions both quarterbacks were fairly accurate. Johnny Davidson completed 9 of 13 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown pass to Logan Moews in the first quarter. Pierce went 19-for-27 for 176 yards and touchdowns to Hall and Blissett.

For the Broncos, they look to build on their regular season success with the postseason starting next week.

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