Another reason for Batavia to celebrate
Batavia's football players were in a celebratory mood after Friday's 49-0 victory at West Chicago.
And who can blame them?
After dropping their season opener 40-38 to Oswego in August, the Bulldogs (5-1) have been on a roll. The defending Class 6A state champions notched their fifth consecutive win on a frigid evening behind a stout defense that didn't allow a first down until 5:51 remaining in the third quarter and an efficient offense that racked up five rushing touchdowns.
The numbers speak for themselves:
• 23 straight Upstate Eight River Division wins
• A 4-0 record to share the UEC River lead with Geneva
• Only 32 points yielded in Batavia's last five games
• A guaranteed winning record and a likely cinch for playoff eligibility again
• A huge game with the conference title on the line against Geneva Oct. 17 if both teams take care of business Oct. 10
• A 39-4 record the last four seasons
"This is a great team," Batavia junior running back Zach Garrett said. "I think we can go pretty far again (in the state playoffs). We have a shut-down defense, and we're executing on offense, and the juniors have stepped up to help the seniors. It feel great."
Garrett was a critical reason why the Bulldogs were all smiles after Friday's win. Coming off a 103-yard performance the previous time out against St. Charles North, the 5-foot-7, 180-pound tailback scampered for a season-high 112 yards and 3 first-half touchdowns. His 9-yard score with 4:31 to go in the first quarter pushed the Bulldogs in front 7-0, and he found the end zone again four minutes later from 1 yard out for a 14-0 lead. Garrett capped his scoring output with a 5-yard TD midway through the second quarter for a 28-0 edge.
Garrett's production was needed with senior running back Blake Crowder sidelined due to injury.
"He's a wonderful kid," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "He works extremely hard. He's a kid who in the off-season dedicated himself to playing well this year. He's not a big kid, but he's very strong and deceptively fast, and he really hits the holes quickly and with a lot of power."
When West Chicago (3-3, 2-2) loaded the box to try to slow down Batavia's ground game, the Bulldogs were able to go over the top when quarterback Evan Costa connected with wideout Peyton Piron for a 29-yard TD pass early in the second quarter. Batavia put the game out of reach on a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Noah Frazier with 6:03 left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs capped their scoring with an 11-yard run by Keaton Drees and a 25-yard interception return from David Sharp.
The host Wildcats were hampered offensively by the absence of senior quarterback Peyton Seidler, who was unable to play for undisclosed reasons. Batavia's defense focused on bottling up West Chicago's ground attack, limiting the Wildcats to 7 first-half rushing yards, and intercepted backup signal caller Alex Turney twice while holding West Chicago to 35 passing yards.
Batavia will attempt to stay even with Geneva atop the UEC River next Friday when it visits Elgin, while West Chicago travels to unbeaten Geneva before playing Streamwood and St. Charles East in its quest for its first playoff berth in a decade.
"West Chicago's kids played hard tonight," Piron said. "It would be easy to give up when you fall behind like that, but their guys flew to the ball on defense. Give them credit."