Now that postseason call-ups have taken place, the Maine South football team has seven sets of brothers.
No set of Hawks siblings was more productive than the Bartell brothers — Anthony, a senior tight end and slot receiver, and Jimmy, a junior outside linebacker — in Friday’s Class 8A playoff opener as Maine South defeated Evanston 58-7 in Park Ridge.
Anthony Bartell caught one pass for 14 yards for the fifth-seeded Hawks, the defending state champions.
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While the elder Bartell’s name didn’t feature prominently on the stat sheet, his blocking was instrumental in the Hawks’ offensive explosion. Senior running back Fotis Kokosioulis, a Northern Illinois recruit, carried 18 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and senior quarterback John O’Sullivan threw three touchdown passes against the 28th-seeded Wildkits (6-4).
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“(My role is) mostly blocking,” Anthony Bartell said. “They have me at tight end every other play. I consider myself the sixth lineman because I block every single play, but I’m totally fine with it. I just do my job and get our running backs (yards), and I catch a pass every once in a while.”
Maine South coach Dave Inserra said Anthony Bartell also has emerged as one of the team’s emotional leaders.
“He is our heart-and-soul leader,” Inserra said. “He’s really smart with his leadership and has courage. It’s been a group of guys (who have led throughout the season), but lately I’ve just gone, ‘Anthony, you (speak to the team).’ He knows what to say, he knows how to push the guys.
“I really like what he’s doing on the field. And you need guys who make a difference on the team (behind the scenes), and he’s one of those guys who really does. He plays hard, plays smart and kids listen (to him).”
Jimmy Bartell did a little bit of everything on Friday — he finished with 3 1/2 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, a tipped pass and a quarterback hurry — to help contain dangerous Evanston senior quarterback Drew Dawkins.
“I played the short side of the field, and (Dawkins) likes to scramble a lot. He’s fast and I had to stay and maintain the backside, so he didn’t run outside,” said Jimmy Bartell, who lives in Park Ridge along with his brother. “That’s the most important part of being an outside linebacker.”
It was the second time the Central Suburban South foes played this season at Maine South. The Hawks won the first meeting 56-14 on Sept. 22.
In the rematch, Maine South (9-1) scored on six of its first seven possessions.
Senior receiver Cam Stacy had a 64-yard touchdown catch, Kokosioulis had a 55-yard touchdown grab and junior Bobby Inserra made a 19-yard touchdown catch.
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Late in the game, freshman quarterback Luke Leongas threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Eric Lelo.
Maine South advanced to play 21st-seeded Warren (7-3) in Gurnee. The Blue Devils beat 12th-seeded Bolingbrook 28-14 on Friday.
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press