Batavia breaks away from St. Charles East in 3rd quarter

Trailing only 12-7 at the half against a powerful Batavia team, the St. Charles East football team looked like it wanted to add its own spin to the Saints' homecoming theme of “Enchanted East.”

But Batavia had all of the magic in the second half of the Upstate Eight River clash Friday night, piling up 21 third-quarter points on the way to a 40-7 victory, the Bulldogs' 21st straight in conference action.

St. Charles East (1-3, 1-1) had its moment of fleeting glory in driving 80 yards in 15 plays after the opening kickoff to baffle Batavia with a hurry-up offense that culminated in a 2-yard touchdown run by Ramon Lopez.

After the Saints recovered the ensuing kickoff with a perfect pooch kick over the Bulldogs' first line of defense, it appeared East was in business again at the Batavia 35-yard line.

But Bulldogs safety Brett Bowman picked off an Aiden Wright (12 of 24, 180 yards) pass to kill the drive and set Batavia up at the Saints' 42-yard line. It was a momentum shift that Batavia never really relinquished.

Moments later, Canaan Coffey made a sliding catch in the end zone on a 7-yard toss from quarterback Kyle Niemiec on a fourth-and-goal play.

“We thought about a field goal, but I thought we needed a touchdown there,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “We like going for it on fourth down and it seemed like a makeable play. Coffey is a heck of a receiver and that's why we go to him.”

Even though Batavia (3-1, 2-0) missed an extra point kick and a two-point pass after its first two scores, the Bulldogs managed to close the half with that 12-7 lead after the Saints muffed a punt attempt that put the Bulldogs at the East 22-yard line.

Noah Frazier finished that drive off with less than two minutes to play in the half by crashing into the line and then bouncing off to race around the end from 2 yards out.

The second half was a nightmare for St. Charles East, with the Bulldogs holding the hosts to only five yards rushing, 57 yards passing and three first downs.

In the meantime, the Batavia offense kicked into a higher gear, especially after Niemiec negotiated a brilliant 48-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw in the opening drive of the half.

“It definitely got the momentum going,” Niemiec said of his run, which he completed by stretching over the goal line with a defender draped on him. “They started out with the momentum, but it came back to our side, and once everyone starts rolling on the same page, that's when we are really good.”

St. Charles East went into a pattern of three-and-outs on offense, and Batavia made the Saints pay. Niemiec capped a 65-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, after five carries from workhorse Blake Crowder (20 carries, 118 yards; 5 receptions, 62 yards).

Coffey pulled down another 7-yard touchdown pass from Niemiec (10 of 15, 123 yards) to make it 33-7 going into the final quarter.

With the game locked down, linebacker Jake Hlava moved to the fullback slot and busted off a 9-yard touchdown run to complete the scoring with less than five minutes left.

“St. Charles had a really nice game plan, and I was impressed with how hard they came out and played us,” Piron said. “They did a nice job of taking certain things away from us during the game.

“But I was really proud of how we adjusted, and our defense did a really nice job in the second half,” Piron added.

Though he was happy with how his team started the game, St. Charles East coach Bryce Farquhar knew his squad was facing a well-oiled machine.

“They are a really good team and won a state championship for a reason,” Farquhar said. “They made some adjustments and shut down Ramon Lopez tonight, and he is a big player for us.”

Lopez finished with 73 yards on 22 carries as the only Saint runner who had positive yards.

“I felt we were still in it after the first half, but that's been the tale of our season,” Farquhar said. “If I could put my finger on it (the team's poor second halves), I would fix it right away.”