PITTSTON TWP — Bottoms up.

That's not a holiday toast. It's how Lon Hazlet builds a football program. And he's done it over and over again.

Hazlet, 44, a 1985 Slippery Rock High School graduate, turned around programs at Karns City, DuBois and Pittston before moving on to Wilkes University, a Division III school in Wilkes-Barre, as an assistant coach.

“I recruit during the offseason now,” Hazlet said. “But I miss that time with the players.

“I miss the weight room, the summer work ... I miss a lot of the grind that goes with coaching high school football.”

Hazlet was an assistant coach at Slippery Rock from 1987-94. He took over as Karns City head coach in 1995 and was 2-7 his first year there.

By the time he left the Gremlins after the 2000 campaign, he had put together back-to-back undefeated seasons — first time a Butler County team did that in 38 years — and enjoyed a school and conference-record 23-game winning streak.

“When Lon got here, our numbers were in the low 30's,” Karns City athletic director Tom Wagner said. “He got them well into the 40's and that's a significant increase for a small school.

“Lon's a good motivator. He gets kids to play. He's an extremely hard worker and he's demanding. And that's not a bad thing.”

Karns City has maintained its success under Ed Conto's guidance since Hazlet left. While he was with the Gremlins, Hazlet made certain the program's junior varsity, freshman and junior high teams were operating efficiently and effectively.

“He kept our ninth grade program going and that can be difficult at a school our size,” Wagner said. “If there was a JV game, freshman game, eighth grade game going on, Lon was there.

“It was his program and he oversaw it.”

He did the same thing at DuBois, finished 0-10 his first year and winning back-to-back conference titles shortly thereafter. At Pittston, Hazlet followed a 1-9 debut season with a 5-5 mark before moving on to college football.

“Most of my moves were financially related,” Hazlet admitted. “My wife and I have four children. We did what we had to do for our family.

“You build a program from the bottom up. I've always believed that. When I got to DuBois, we were low on numbers and the junior high program wasn't in great shape. We built a program around discipline and academics and it came around.”

During his three years at Wilkes, the team has finished 4-6, 6-5 and 7-4 in successive years. Hazlet coached wide receivers in 2008 and had the team MVP in Jason Prushinski (42 catches-641 yards).

He coached quarterbacks in 2009 and had the team MVP in Rob Johnson (1,929 yards, 12 TD passes). He coached running backs this year and had the team MVP in Zach Tivald (844 yards, 9 TDs).

Hazlet said he has applied for the vacant Butler head coaching position. He was a finalist for that position in 2002, the year Garry Cathell was hired.

He had not applied since.

“The timing wasn't right since 2002, but it's a job I've dreamed of having since I got into coaching,” he said of Butler. “Slippery Rock's stadium didn't have lights when I was in school. We played on Saturday afternoons, so my Dad and I went to Butler games on Friday nights.

“Those were the historic days of Butler football. I'd love to be the guy to bring those days back.”

Hazlett's father, Glenn, was interim head coach at Slippery Rock High two years ago and has been a longtime assistant coach.

Butler's administration is still collecting applications and doesn't figure on hiring a coach until January at the earliest.

“We don't want a quick fix,” Butler athletic director Bill Mylan said of any potential hire. “We want someone who will get involved in the feeder system and will stick with this for a long time, because it's going to take time.”

Hazlet believes he fits such a description. While he is from Slippery Rock, his wife is a Villa Maria (Erie) graduate.

“We want to come home,” Hazlet said. “Our parents are getting older and we miss family. And I miss high school football.”