Bartlett dismantles Royals

After dropping their last two games against the Larkin Royals, the Bartlett Hawks came out on a mission as the two teams opened Upstate Eight Conference football action Friday night at Millennium Field.

And while the rain steadily poured, the Hawks' offense was steadily pouring on the touchdowns early as 5 unanswered TDs in the first half led to a 35-6 win over the Royals.

The Hawks (3-0, 1-0) opened up the scoring with two quick touchdown runs in the first quarter as Fabian Libreri took an 11-yard run in followed by a 1-yard run from Josh Hasenberg.

However it was the Hawks' air attack that kept piling on the points as Hasenberg connected for two TD passes to Cory Brown - a 41-yarder and a 13-yarder in the second quarter.

"We really worked hard in practice this week," Brown said. "Our line gave Josh plenty of time and I got wide open and he got me the ball."

Brown also added a 62-yard punt return in the first quarter while Hasenberg finished the game 14 for 20 passing with 255 yards, 146 going to Brown.

"It's nice when you can come out and execute early on and give yourself a big lead," said Bartlett coach Tom Meaney, whose team is 3-0 for the first time inm program history. "(Josh is) a leader on offense. He's a good QB."

While the Bartlett offense did its job so did the Hawks' defense, limiting the Royals (1-2, 0-1) to only 40 first half yards, minus 7 on the ground, and allowing only 7 first downs through the game's duration.

Larkin's only first down in the first half came with 3:15 remaining before the break as quarterback Jeff Saurbaugh connected with Carter McMahon for a 49-yard pass.

The Royals finally got on the board just under 3 minutes into the fourth quarter as Jalen Williams took a 19-yard rush into the end zone.

"Bartlett's offensive system was a well-oiled team," said Larkin coach Matt Gehrig. "If you're down 35-0 after three quarters and you haven't cut into their lead, getting the touchdown is at least something positive to take away."