Bartlett senior Vince Yario couldn’t hide his emotions.
As the Hawks’ starting quarterback for three seasons, he understood that with five losses coming into the game, his team was likely not going to make the upcoming playoffs.
And with a future looming on the baseball field, Friday night would be his football swan song.
“It’s hard not to cry, but we won,” Yario said. “That’s all you can ask for — to go out with a win in your last game.”
Indeed, Yario and Bartlett did just that. The visiting Hawks easily handled playoff-bound Elgin with a 48-0 Upstate Eight Conference decision that closed out the regular season.
Yario completed 8 of 11 passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns for Bartlett (4-5, 4-2). Tyler Meziere also had a huge game, both as an option quarterback and a target for Yario.
Meziere ran for 85 yards and two TDs on only five carries. He also caught three passes for 58 yards and another TD. Nicholas Carlos caught the other two TD passes from Yario.
LaMarin Powell rushed for 48 yards on 14 carries to lead Elgin (5-4, 3-3).
Yario dislocated his knee in Week 1, putting his final football season in jeopardy. He got to work, however, missing a month but ultimately returning to action.
“It was a lot of physical therapy just to try to get back to play a couple more games with the guys,” Yario said. “That was the overall goal — try to have as much fun m last time playing football.
“It’s the last time strapping on the pads.”
In Yario’s stead, Meziere was tabbed to replace him. The only problem was, he hadn’t played quarterback since fourth grade.
Bartlett coach Milan Vuckovich didn’t have many other options, though, so he put his best athlete back there and rolled the dice.
“The team rallied around him,” Vuckovich said of Meziere. “We played our butts off against Lake Park and Glenbard East. It was because of that dude.”
Meziere wasn’t one of the seven sophomores Vuckovich brought up to varsity three seasons ago. It motivated him to become who he is now — a player attracting college interest as a receiver.
“He worked hard to turn himself into that dude” Vuckovich said. “I hope these young guys see what happens when you have motivation. Ty is the man.”
Yario couldn’t get on the field at that time, but he was definitely a fan.
“Watching him play was so much fun, rocking No. 2, looking like Johnny Manziel out there,” Yario said. “It was definitely a shock to him having to play quarterback.
“I know he wants to play college ball as a wide receiver. I tried to come back as fast as I could to try to get him as much film as I could to help him play some ball.”
Meziere appreciated Yario’s hard work in coming back, but the experience made him even more versatile, which he showed off Friday night.
“I love doing everything so it’s been a ton of fun,” Meziere said. “I run the ball a little bit, then catch the ball from him. It’s been great.”
It’s also a special group to Vuckovich, who took over the program four years ago when these seniors were incoming freshman. Yario was one of the seven sophomores he called up to varsity.
“This is a weird feeling for me because I love these guys,” Vuckovich said. “They’re all awesome. They’ve done everything for us.”
Watching his team deliver a dominant performance like they had Friday didn’t hurt, either.
“The fact that they came out and did what they were supposed to do right off the bat, that was the biggest thing,” Vuckovich said. “We didn’t get off the bus and not take anybody seriously.”
Meziere couldn’t have asked for anything better considering the circumstances.
“This is the best way to go out,” he said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.