Bartlett bounces back with big win

After watching quarterback AJ Bilyeu get picked off five times in last week’s 35-13 loss against Batavia, the Bartlett defense was eager to return the favor to an opposing team.

The Hawks (3-2; 2-0) got that chance and forced 6 turnovers in a 42-0 win over the host Lake Park Lancers (1-4; 0-3) in Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division football action on Friday night.

Lancers’ quarterback Zack Gehant (10-for-21, 116 passing yards) threw 4 interceptions, and leading the charge was Bartlett defensive back Kyle Garcia, who grabbed 2 of them.

“Our coaches pushed us really hard over the week,” Garcia said. “They just made sure that we were on our game this week, and we were on our game tonight.”

The Hawks scored 2 touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, and the defense capped the scoring as Mike Partyka ran an interception back 19 yards as Bartlett took the 42-0 lead with under a minute left in the third quarter.

On offense, James Butler ran 96 yards on 14 carries and added a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Butler rushed for 77 yards in the first quarter alone, but Aaron Everson got both of the Hawks’ first-quarter TDs with a 17-yard run and a 9-yard reception from Bilyeu (7-for-14, 134 passing yards).

Everson added TD runs of 27 yards and 1 yard.

Despite earning the shutout, the Bartlett defense did allow 236 total yards as Lake Park did threaten to score a couple times.

“They still gained some yards,” said Bartlett coach Tom Meaney. “We just got stingy when they got near the goal line.”

The Lancers’ best scoring chance came late in the third quarter as they marched to the Bartlett 6-yard line. LaCurt Evans (10 carries for 64 yards) then had a 5-yard run but fumbled the ball into the end zone which Bartlett’s Tyler Hess recovered.

“We were able to do some good things off and on,” said Lake Park coach Chris Roll. “We had a couple of drives where we ran the ball well against a big Bartlett team.”

Kevin Kirchhoff also had an interception for Bartlett, and Jon LaRocca had one for Lake Park.