advertisement

West Aurora wins thriller over Bartlett

From the opening kickoff to the final play of the game, the overflow West Aurora homecoming crowd earned its cost of admission Friday night.

In the first meeting between the Blackhawks and Bartlett in the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division, the schools' slugfest was not decided until three West Aurora secondary members tackled Bartlett wide receiver Brandon Gates as time expired.

With their 34-28 victory the Blackhawks ended a 12-game losing streak dating to the second week of last year.

"It was good to come back and get the win," West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said after his squad squandered an early 14-0 lead with 3 second-half touchdowns. "We haven't been healthy the last two weeks. Drake (Spears) came back, and it made all the difference."

DaQuan Cross was never touched in dashing 93 yards on the opening kickoff to give the Blackhawks (1-4, 1-2) a 7-0 cushion.

Spears then followed on the ensuing possession with an explosive burst; the junior used a punishing stiff arm to deny a would-be Bartlett tackler 40 yards from the end zone to accentuate the 76-yard scoring run.

"It was the lineman who had a great push," said Spears, who finished with a game-high 123 yards on only 8 carries. "I had to get away (from the Bartlett secondary with the stiff arm)."

"We expected (West Aurora) to come out and fight," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "They're from the DVC (DuPage Valley). We came out a little flat."

But Bartlett (2-3, 1-2) was far from finished.

With Brenner Wallace and Jordan Flint platooning on virtually every play at quarterback for Bartlett, the Hawks had back-to-back scoring drives to tie the game at 14-14 early in the second quarter.

Wallace had a 4-yard keeper to conclude a seven-play, 70-yard drive in the opening quarter, and Nolan Bernat exploited a gaping hole with a 17-yard run early in the second quarter.

Bryce Petty returned the second-half kickoff 54 yards to give Bartlett ideal field position, and the halftime tie was soon unlocked with the Hawks' third unanswered score: a Bertnat 1-yard run.

But West Aurora quarterback Johnathan Doyle would end the Blackhawks' offensive drought with a flawless passing night.

The junior did not have an incompletion in 9 attempts - Philip Malloy would catch 8 passes for 84 yards - and Spears' 26-yard reception out of the backfield on fourth down was the key play.

Doyle called his own number to complete the drive.

After holding Bartlett, Spears had his final signature play: an eerily similar 44-yard jaunt that gave West Aurora the lead for good five seconds before the fourth-quarter started.

"It was the exact same play (as the other long touchdown)," Spears said.

West Aurora later capitalized on a special-teams gaffe to take a 34-21 lead behind a short T.J. Jackson run.

But Bartlett scored on a 53-yard touchdown pass between Petty and Wallace with 3:03 to play to set the final dramatics.

The Hawks' final possession started at its own 23-yard line with 59 seconds to play and not a single timeout.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.