Wiktor Rzepski’s big play sparks Lake Park past Bartlett

ROSELLE – Sometimes a big defensive play can completely change the course of a game.

Friday night at Lake Park’s Bob Monken Field was one of those times, as the Lancers scored a 31-0 victory over visiting Bartlett.

Midway through the second quarter, Bartlett was playing tough and giving the Lancers all they could handle.

Lake Park led 6-0 after a 5-yard first-quarter touchdown run from senior Robert Munaco. The Hawks also were playing well on both sides of the ball. They had put together a couple of nice early drives, but were held out of the end zone due to untimely penalties.

And when the Bartlett defense stopped Lake Park on fourth-and-8 in the second quarter on a clutch pass breakup by defensive back Michael Kampa, all the momentum was with the Hawks.

Then Lake Park junior Wiktor Rzepski flipped the script right back in favor of the Lancers. On the first play after the turnover on downs, Lake Park quarterback Vincent Yario rolled out to his right looking to pass. With a stellar effort, Rzepski chased down Yario and created a strip sack. Teammate Val Roins recovered the fumble, and the Lancers were in business deep in Bartlett territory.

Four plays later, Lake Park quarterback George Tzamouranis scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, and from that point on it was all Lancers.

“I got the job done,” Rzepski said of his clutch sack. “I just executed.”

Rzepski said that initially he didn’t realize that Roins had corralled the fumble to give the ball back to Lake Park.

“I didn’t know at first,” he said, “but (when I found out) I was really happy that we could continue on offense. Our team came together tonight, and we’re all family at the end of the day.”

Leading by two touchdowns, Lake Park made it 21-0 just before halftime thanks to a special teams score. After a Bartlett bad snap on a punt attempt, Lancers sophomore Kosta Zepeda recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.

Bartlett kept the pressure up in the second half, mainly on the strength of its ground attack. Senior Filip Szeszko finished with 76 yards rushing for the Hawks, while junior Isaac Harris had 73.

But the Lancers defense didn’t let the Hawks any closer than their 38-yard line on any of its second-half drives, and Lake Park tacked on 10 more points in the final two quarters.

In the third period, Tzamouranis threw a 25-yard TD pass to Niko Menos. Then in the fourth, Mario Gambino closed the scoring with a 26-yard field goal.

Tzamouranis finished with 180 yards through the air.

“Bartlett is a really good team from a good conference,” said Lake Park coach Chris Kirkpatrick, “so anytime in high school football you win a game in shutout fashion, that is really impressive.

“I’m proud of the effort of our defense, and scoring on special teams is always fun and a testament to hard work.

“Another big night from our running backs and our offensive line, and I thought our quarterback (Tzamouranis) played a really clean game and made some really good decisions.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240906/prep-football/rzepskis-big-play-on-defense-sends-lake-park-to-shutout-victory-against-bartlett/