Athlete Of The Week: Anthony Bartlett

PALMER – As the clock ticked toward halftime with seventh-seed Cape Cod Tech trailing third-seed Pathfinder Tech 16-6 in the semifinals of the state vocational small school playoffs Friday, junior captain Anthony Bartlett could be heard on the field imploring his teammates.

“This game is not over, so don’t act like it,” he said.

In large part due to his own efforts, Bartlett proved to be right.

On the opening drive of the second half, junior quarterback Daniel Handville found Bartlett crossing to the right for a big gain to get into the red zone. A penalty nullified the play, moving the Crusaders back from first-and-goal to second-and-14 as they sought to close the gap. 

Cape Tech went back to the same exact route. Handville hit Bartlett, again breaking up the right, who took the catch to Pathfinder’s doorstep. No penalty flag this time. Junior Chaz Thomas ran in for the touchdown a couple plays later. The catch was one of multiple crucial plays made by Bartlett in the 18-16 comeback win to get the Crusaders to the vocational championship.

“He always brings the energy, always,” head coach Calvin Castillias said. “He is our spiritual leader. He leads this team. Everyone looks forward to what he's got to say at the beginning of the game.”

Bartlett had a 30-yard catch during Cape Tech’s next drive on the last play of the third quarter. A shoestring tackle prevented a touchdown. It didn’t end up mattering. On second-and-10 at Pathfinder’s 19-yard line, Bartlett took a handoff to the end zone to put Cape Tech ahead. With Bartlett’s impact, the Crusaders assembled another come-from-behind victory and reached their first championship since 2006.

“With the help of a great defensive scheme, great offensive scheme to get the ball out quick, get passes out, it really helped us dominate the second half and really just take it away with momentum and the heart that we didn't have in the first half,” Bartlett said.

All told, Bartlett picked up four first downs and scored a touchdown on three rushes and three receptions. He had been thinking pregame, he said, about how thankful he was “to be on a team like this and to get opportunities like this.”

“I just want to give everything for my boys, and so I'm going to go out there and give my best every single time,” Bartlett said.

Cape Tech’s seven wins are the most for the program since it was forced to split as a co-op team with Harwich High School in 2010. The vocational playoff final against South Shore Tech will be the Crusaders’ first championship game in 20 years, when they lost 7-0 to Ipswich in the Division 3A Super Bowl. The bond of the group is what’s powered them in putting together Cape Tech’s best season as a standalone program.

“There's not a single player on this team that doesn't love another like their brothers,” Bartlett said. “I mean, it's amazing really how close we are. We really are like a family. We preach that, I think, and it's just made us so close.”