Batavia embraces its dark side in win over Larkin
Batavia football players traded their crimson-colored home jerseys for black Friday in celebration of Batavia Youth Football Night.
And then the Bulldogs left Larkin in the dark.
Scoring touchdowns on its first 5 offensive possessions, Batavia (6-0, 3-0) rolled to a 35-0 halftime advantage on the way to a convincing 48-0 Upstate Eight Conference River Division victory over the Royals (2-4, 1-3) at Bulldog Stadium.
“It was fun for the kids to do the black-out theme tonight,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said of the team’s new uniforms for the occasion, “and then obviously mixed with the kickoff of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I thought that this was a nice night for our community and our kids.
“We took care of business tonight and didn’t mess around.”
That much was certain.
A low snap enabled Cullin Rokos to tackle punter Clayton Stilin for a 6-yard loss on the Royals’ first possession, and the Bulldogs scored the game’s first touchdown 5 plays later when 6-4, 250-pound fullback Adam Hunger plowed his way into the end zone from 5 yards out.
On their next possession, Batavia marched 51 yards in 6 plays, capped by Tyler Miller’s 6-yard TD run to make it 14-0.
After a three-and-out series and an 11-yard Larkin punt, it took the Bulldogs just seven seconds to add their third touchdown of the opening quarter — a picture-perfect, 36-yard pass from Micah Coffey (5-of-7, 117 yards) to Zach Strittmatter.
Miller tallied his second touchdown on a 5-yard run for a 28-0 lead with 9:03 left before halftime. Junior tailback Anthony Scaccia (8 carries, 66 yards) stretched the lead to 35-0 with his 5-yard TD run midway through the second quarter on a possession that took all of 37 seconds off the clock.
“We scored points quickly when we were supposed to,” said Piron, whose team outgained Larkin 209-21 in the first half.
A 12-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Patrick Ward (11 carries, 83 yards) with 9:30 remaining in the third quarter made it 42-0 and allowed for a running clock the rest of the way.
Reserve quarterback Dan Albrecht’s 1-yard TD run with 1:21 left closed out the scoring.
“It was honestly what we wanted in a game,” said Piron. “We were able to get things done early and get our backups in and let them play a lot. I’m very pleased with our entire team. Our offensive line — it seems like we’ve got a dozen guys who can go out there and move people off the football. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to (offensive line) Coach (P.J.) White.”
Playing without starting quarterback Kemmerin Blalark (concussion), the Royals managed just 2 first downs and 33 yards of total offense.
“When we’ve got one threat (tailback Maurece Herrion-Jackson) and there’s five guys hitting one guy, it’s not very hard to do,” said Larkin coach Mike Scianna. “We had to keep it simple. That’s all you can do.”
The Royals were never able to cross midfield, as the Bulldogs clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season.
“That’s our motto — not give up one inch,” said Batavia defensive end Marquise Jenkins. “Every week we go into practice and say, ‘What can we do to get better?’
“The playoffs are far away but clinching a playoff spot is a great feeling.”