Batavia powers past Elgin
After winning a state title last year the Batavia Bulldogs football team has been dealing with the pressure that comes with the high expectations to repeat since the season began. So far they are handling it just fine.
On Friday night the Bulldogs crossed off the first item on a long list of goals by clinching a playoff berth with a 48-13 Upstate Eight River Division win at Elgin. Next week the Bulldogs will look to achieve the second item on that list, a divisional title when they square off against Geneva.
"I am really proud of the way this team has handled themselves," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said, "It's not easy living up to those kind of expectations, but this group, especially the seniors, has worked hard to carry on the tradition of success. We are very excited about clinching a playoff spot and excited about what's ahead, too."
Batavia racked up 276 yards on the ground against the Maroons with Zach Garrett leading the way. Garrett rushed for 134 yards on 15 carries and 4 touchdowns. All the damage by Garrett came in the first half as Batavia built a 35-0 lead by halftime.
"We came in focused on what we needed to do," said Garrett. "The line played really well and opened some holes. It's great to clinch a playoff spot again. I was called up to the team last year and it was amazing to experience that and it would be great to do it again, but right now we are just focused on one game at a time."
Batavia (6-1, 5-0) took advantage of great field position in the first half, starting in Elgin territory on 4 possessions.
The Bulldogs' good fortune started on the opening kickoff when Matthew Fabian recovered a muffed return by the Maroons at the Elgin 17-yard line. Two plays later Garrett scored on a 4-yard run.
On Batavia's next possession Garrett scored from 7 yards out after the Bulldogs had to go just 44 yards. Garrett also had touchdown runs of 20 and 3 yards on Batavia's next two possessions.
A fumble recovery by Jake Birhaus at the Elgin 23 led to one score, but Batavia also put together a couple of long 80-yard drives. Noah Frazier scored the Bulldogs' final touchdown of the half on a 1-yard run
"I liked the way we were able to move the ball on the ground," Piron said. "The offensive line is continuing to come together and Zach really did a nice job. He ran hard."
Batavia added a pair of touchdowns in the second half, the first on a 3-yard run by Kamontez Thomas that made it 41-0 and gave the Bulldogs a running clock. The second came on a 10-yard run by backup quarterback Greg Drake.
Elgin (0-7, 0-5) actually had some success moving the ball against Batavia with 302 yards of offense. However, three times in the first half the Maroons moved the ball deep into Batavia territory only to come empty. Two drives were halted by interceptions in the end zone by the Bulldogs' Brett Bowman.
The Maroons finally got into the scoring column in the fourth quarter with a pair of touchdown passes by Dontrell Geddy, the first a 65-yard bomb to Jordan Smith and the second a 50-yard strike to Johnny Higgins.
Geddy fished with 139 yards passing and also rushed for 147 yards on 19 carries.
"I saw a lot of positive things out there tonight," Elgin coach Kyle Rohde said. "The guys continued playing hard and we were able to move the ball. The turnovers hurt us again, but I thought Dontrell played well and it nice to get those two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. We able to walk out of here feeling a little better."