Record-setting day for 9-0 Bartlett
The last time Bartlett won the Upstate Eight Conference outright was in 2003, powered by a smothering defense.
The '03 Hawks didn't allow a point to a UEC foe and finished 6-0 in the league.
The 2008 edition can play defense, too - it held East Aurora to 64 total yards and forced 4 turnovers on Saturday - but Bartlett's explosive offense has elevated the program to a heretofore unforeseen level.
That offensive skill was on display early and often as the Hawks took to the air in a 51-6 rout of the host Tomcats at Roy Davis Field in Aurora. The game was originally scheduled to be played Friday but was pushed back a day due to lightning in the Aurora area on Friday night.
Bartlett scored on all 8 of its first half possessions to take a 51-0 lead at intermission, and quarterback Josh Hasenberg completed 11-of-15 passing attempts for 235 yards and a school record 6 touchdowns.
The win gave Bartlett (9-0, 6-0) its first perfect regular season in the school's 11-year football history, its second outright UEC championship and fourth league title overall in the last eight seasons.
"It's been a long time since we've had a conference championship, and we take a lot of pride in that," said Hasenberg, who broke his own school record for single-season passing yards. The senior has thrown for 1,603 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Bartlett had intended to mix the attack between the run and the pass but adjusted based on the East Aurora defensive formation.
"Their defense was all at the line of scrimmage," Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. "There was no one deeper than 5 yards off the line, so we saw that and said let's throw until they back up and we can run. If the box was full, we threw. If the box was empty, we ran. At least, emptier."
The Hawks set the tone on their first play from scrimmage as Hasenberg hit receiver Alex VanNess in stride on a wheel pattern for a 64-yard touchdown. Receiver Cory Brown was also open on a post route.
East Aurora (2-7, 1-5) fumbled on its first 2 possessions, giving Bartlett short fields of 18 and 21 yards with which to work. The Hawks turned those miscues into 10 points with a 29-yard field goal by Dan Karys and a 6-yard scoring catch by Brown.
Open again on the post-wheel combination, Brown split the secondary to catch a 58-yard touchdown pass that made it 23-0. Greg Partyka ballooned the lead to 30-0 when he crossed the goal line on an 8-yard tight end screen.
A 12-yard touchdown reception by VanNess, who made 4 catches for 96 yards, and a 2-yard scoring catch by tight end Matt Pashawitz upped the lead to 44-0 and initiated a running clock with 5:50 left in the second quarter.
A 70-yard touchdown run by Corleon Richardson with 15.9 seconds left in the second quarter capped the Bartlett onslaught and allowed the Hawks to look ahead.
"We've been looking forward to the playoffs for a while now," said Brown, who finished with 3 receptions for 88 yards. We didn't know what our record was going to be in the regular season, but the main goal is making it deep into the playoffs. That's what I was thinking the whole season."
East Aurora's only touchdown came on a 7-yard pass from James Jones to Jamario Taylor with 5:20 left in the game.