“We came out a little sluggish tonight and Bertha was able to capitalize on some of our miscues early and jump out to a big lead,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Derrick Clark.  “Once we settled down I thought our team looked much better.  Defensively, I thought we looked great for much of the night but poor execution on a few plays resulted in big plays for Bertha.  Abe Burleigh (9.5 tackles, 7 solo, 1/2 sack) had a great game for us at linebacker racking up double digit tackles and was a disruptive force in the backfield all night.”   

Devin Dean took the opening kick-off 80 yards to give the Bears a 6-0 lead just twelve seconds into the game. The Bears added a second touchdown on a four yard run by Carter Perlinger, extending their lead to 12-0 with 9:58 left in the first quarter. At the 3:04 mark Dean scored on a 38 yard run and Rick Harig caught the two point conversion toss from Christian Baumgartner, making it 20-0.

Dean scored his third TD of the night on an 86 yard run with 10:41 left in the half and Perlinger blasted in to the end zone for the two point conversion, making the score 28-0 with 10:41 left in the half. With just 45 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Jordan Kirscht ran in from five yards out and it was 34-0 at the half. 

Kirscht scored the final TD of the night for Bertha-Hewitt on a 55 yard run with 9:56 left in the third quarter. Baumgartner carried the ball in for the two point conversion to make it 42-0. 

The Hillcrest touchdown came with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter when Thomas Zwiers hit John Vall with a 72 yard TD pass. 

The Bears had 365 (350 rushing, 15 passing) yards of total offense and Hillcrest finished with 198 (133 rushing, 65 passing). 

Dean led the Bears with 152 rushing yards on 7 carries and Kirscht added 101 yards on 9 attempts. Logan Disabella led the Comets with 81 yards on 13 carries. 

Hillcrest will host Wheaton/Herman-Norcross in the Comets homecoming game on Friday, October 12.