Intercepted

Bartlett's Alex VanNess intercepts a pass intended for Neuqua Valley's Joshua Schaffer in the end zone Friday, during the final minutes of Bartlett's 31-28 win over Neuqua in Naperville. Because of the big play, Bartlett remained undefeated this year.
Jonathan Miano / Staff photographer

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Another week provided another wild finish for Neuqua Valley.

The Wildcats were seven days removed from a four-overtime victory when the stage was set for another dramatic conclusion on Friday night in Naperville.

The Wildcats were seven days removed from a four-overtime victory when the stage was set for another dramatic conclusion on Friday night in Naperville.

Neuqua trailed visiting Bartlett by three points with 8.6 seconds to play. The Wildcats had the ball at the Hawks' 20 when quarterback Alex Lincoln lofted a pass high into the corner of the end zone. Neuqua receiver Josh Schaffer jumped and appeared to have his hands firmly in place to secure the victory when Bartlett's Alex VanNess reached in and snatched the ball right out of Schaffer's grasp.

Neuqua trailed visiting Bartlett by three points with 8.6 seconds to play. The Wildcats had the ball at the Hawks' 20 when quarterback Alex Lincoln lofted a pass high into the corner of the end zone. Neuqua receiver Josh Schaffer jumped and appeared to have his hands firmly in place to secure the victory when Bartlett's Alex VanNess reached in and snatched the ball right out of Schaffer's grasp.

VanNess came down with the interception and the entire Hawks sideline danced to celebrate Bartlett's 31-28 victory, which kept the Hawks unbeaten (7-0) and firmly in first place in the Upstate Eight Conference with two games remaining in the regular season.

"(Schaffer) had the ball, and I just ripped it out of his hands," said VanNess, who mainly plays receiver but was strategically placed into the game for the final few plays.

"I really don't know what happened, because I thought I had it too," said Schaffer, who finished with five catches for 65 yards and one touchdown. "It's disappointing. You dream about making plays like that and to have a pass like that go through your hands really hurts a lot."

Lincoln, who completed 26 of 37 passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns, praised Bartlett's defense on the final play.

"We were going for the win," Lincoln said. "We think we can score more easily through the air than we can by kicking it. We have guys who have made that play in the past. They brought a safety over and the corner stayed with (Schaffer). I was looking for either Connor (Yearian) or Schaffer in a jump-ball situation. It just didn't fall our way."

Neuqua coach Bryan Wells said he thought about allowing kicker Tim Drancik attempt a potential game-tying 37-yard field goal, but he wanted to see if the Wildcats (3-4, 2-3) could position themselves better because they still had a timeout remaining.

"We wanted a shot at the end zone first," Wells said. "We've been pretty fortunate to come down with a lot of those (jump-ball situations) over the year, and we just didn't come down with that. Alex had his choice of receivers, and I'm not going to fault him for that at all."

And how could Wells, after Lincoln put forth his second straight passing clinic. Lincoln's 343 passing yards broke a Neuqua school record. Ken Rice held the previous mark of 292 yards set in a 2003 playoff loss against Naperville Central. Add the seven touchdown passes Lincoln threw last week against St. Charles East, and he's tossed 11 total in two games.

"Things have really gone well for us offensively since the Waubonsie Valley game," Lincoln said. "But it is a team game, and the bottom line is it doesn't matter what I do because all that matters is if we win."

The Wildcats were one defensive stop away from dealing the Hawks (5-0 in the UEC) their first loss of the season. Neuqua had a 28-24 lead with 2 minutes, 22 seconds remaining and had Bartlett backed up at its own 34-yard line, facing a fourth-and-seven. But Bartlett quarterback Josh Hasenberg calmly dropped back and found receiver Cory Brown open on a hitch route for 13 yards and a first down. Four plays later, Hasenberg found Brown on a slant, and Brown raced 42 yards for the go-ahead score with 1:14 remaining.

Hasenberg and the Hawks used a control passing attack to dictate the tempo. Hasenberg completed 17 of 24 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown. Brown hauled in nine receptions for 171 yards.

"The big-play pass continues to hurt us," Wells said. "I feel for those guys back there because they are just battling their butts off, but we're just not coming up with things."

Neither team had much success running the ball. Neuqua carried 16 times for 39 yards while Bartlett amassed 81 yards on 37 carries. The Wildcats did lose starting running back Cody Hammond to a left-leg injury on his only carry of the night in the second quarter.

For the second straight season, the Wildcats need to win twice to ensure a trip to the Class 8A postseason.

"My shoulder blades got so many calluses from being against the wall they've - kind of built up," Wells said. "We just have to go out and win next week."

The Wildcats play at Stadium-Millennium Field in Streamwood, starting at noon on Saturday, followed by Bartlett versus Thornton Township at 6:30 p.m. on the same field.