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Bartlett defeats Waubonsie Valley in UEC Valley battle
Updated: September 9, 2011 11:26PM
Bartlett staked its claim as the team to beat in the Upstate Eight Valley on Friday night.
In a meeting of last year’s UEC Valley co-champs, the Hawks jumped out to a sizable lead against visiting Waubonsie Valley and then hung on for a 27-20 victory at Millennium Field in Streamwood.
Air Force-bound quarterback A.J. Bilyeu threw for two touchdowns and ran for another for Bartlett (2-1, 1-0), but the triumph didn’t come easy as junior backup quarterback Dylan Warden led the Warriors to all of their points in the fourth quarter after senior starter Mitch Stefani left early in the third quarter with what Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy said was a broken collarbone.
“Last year we had to share the conference championship with them, and ever since then I felt like we owed them something,” Bilyeu said. “We came out tonight hungry and focused and came to win.”
The Hawks set the tone on the game’s opening drive by marching 80 yards in 16 plays before Bilyeu scored on a 1-yard run with 4:02 left in the first quarter. Bartlett eventually pushed its lead to 20-0 on a 31-yard pass from Bilyeu to Zach Karys in the second quarter and a 52-yard run by sophomore James Butler early in the third quarter.
The rout appeared to be on after Waubonsie Valley (2-1, 0-1) managed only 24 yards in the first half, but Warden connected with Austin Ameri for a 32-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to pull Waubonsie Valley within 20-7.
Bartlett answered three plays later when Bilyeu hooked up with Karys for a 72-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 27-7, but that almost wasn’t enough as a pair of Warden 3-yard touchdown runs pulled the Warriors within 27-20 with 1:29 left. The Hawks couldn’t breathe easy until Waubonsie Valley failed to recover an onside kick moments later.
“Against a good team you’ve got to play for four quarters, not one quarter,” Murphy said. “(Bartlett) took it to us (the first three quarters). We told our kids all week it was going to be a physical football game, and we didn’t come to play.”
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