Bartlett too much for Bulldogs

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:14PM

Batavia started its first-ever meeting with Bartlett the way it was planned. The Bulldogs scored first and remained confident in the Upstate Eight Conference crossover.

Bartlett, however, ruined all the Bulldogs' plans by scoring four consecutive times, en route to a 40-22 nonconference outing at Millennium Field in Streamwood Friday.

"We started the game exactly the way we wanted to," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said. "To their credit, they threw the ball well...We thought 22-28 points would win the game for us. We didn't think they'd score 40."

Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said this is the offensive explosion the Hawks have been waiting for all season.

"It's nice, considering how physical the last two games went," said Meaney, whose team was without several key players this week due to injuries against Waubonsie Valley in Week 3. "We needed this win. This one was really important if we want to make the playoffs."

Emund Kabba scored Batavia's first touchdown with 4:11 left in the third. Less than three minutes later, Bartlett's Andrew Puccini's 27-yard run evened the score.

Puccini scored the next TD on a one-yard run in the second quarter. The Hawks scored two more times before the break, thanks to quarterback AJ Bilyeu's 12 yard keeper and his TD pass to Russell Martin for a 26-7 lead at the half.

Kabba broke Bartlett's scoring streak in the third quarter on a 36-yard run. Batavia (2-2), however, had a mere 20 seconds to enjoy that before Bilyeu found Zach Karys in the end zone for a 46-yard connection.

Austin Lindquist's eight-yard run with successful two-point conversion from Jon Gray gave the Bulldogs hope and adjusted Bartlett's lead to 33-22, but once again, the Hawks left little time for the Bulldogs to celebrate.

Just 14 seconds after Batavia's TD, Aaron Thabuteau ran for 88 yards on the kickoff return for Bartlett with 4:16 left in the third. Neither team scored in the final frame.

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