Scearce's big night leads Bartlett past Elgin
Football on a Thursday night in April? Must be some kind of April Fool's joke, right?
Add to that the weather was more appropriate for January and the surreal scene was complete.
One person who wasn't thrown off his rhythm by the unusual circumstances was Bartlett quarterback Jacob Scearce. The junior threw touchdown passes to 4 different receivers to lead the Hawks past Elgin, 40-22, on the frozen (artificial) tundra of Memorial Field.
Scearce threw scoring strikes to Hayden Angell and Alec Palella, and Xander Salyers ran for a score as the Hawks opened a 19-0 lead after one quarter.
Nicholas Bucaro was the Hawks' big-play threat, catching an 80-yard pass from Scearce and returning a kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown. He also had a 38-yard run in the second half.
Salyers scored twice as well, catching a 2-yard strike from Scearce to make it 33-0 in the third quarter.
Elgin quarterback Jeffrey Lomax got hot after intermission, throwing 3 second-half scoring passes. He found Noah Mack, Alex West and Gio Griffin in the end zone and finished 20 of 36 for 257 yards. West caught 8 of those for 105 yards while adding a team-high 34 yards on the ground.
"Every day he just keeps getting better," said Bartlett coach Matt Erlenbaugh of Scearce. "He keeps maturing, getting a better grasp of our offense, and kind of how to handle himself. He's getting his reads much better. He's catching up to the speed of the game."
Scearce dropped back just 17 times, but completed 11 for 211 yards.
"I was feeling fantastic today, feeling good coming off the big win last week [at Streamwood]," he said. "The linemen were doing good all night."
The Hawks started quickly, scoring on their opening possession on Angell's 24-yard reception. After the defense forced a 3-and-out, the Hawks struck again with Scearce finding Palella in the corner of the end zone.
Bartlett's defense dominated early, holding Elgin to 74 first-half yards and forcing 3 turnovers for the game. Alex Becque and Gabriel Bemont had interceptions. Joseph Latrofa sacked Lomax on consecutive drop-backs, and Daniel Angelone had a sack and a fumble recovery for Bartlett (3-0, 3-0).
Elgin dropped its first game of the season after starting 2-0.
The Maroons had their chances in the first half. They reached the Bartlett 9 before Latrofa's sacks pushed them back. They reached the 20 later but turned it over on downs. On the next play, Bucaro took Bartlett 80 yards the other way.