Batavia runs away from St. Charles North
When Batavia has a chance to go for a knockout punch, better duck.
The Bulldogs just don't miss.
St. Charles North scored first and was locked in a 14-14 game with the 4-time defending Upstate Eight Conference River champions late into the second quarter Friday night on the North Stars' homecoming.
Then came the roundhouse right.
Batavia scored 21 points in just 2 minutes, 20 seconds, leaving the North Stars down 35-14 at halftime.
And down for the count.
Batavia won 48-28, its 29th straight conference victory, a streak that dates back to 2010.
"I liked the way we established control of the game, stole the momentum and kept rolling," said Batavia coach Dennis Piron, who played a big role in the run with an onside kick call. "Defensively what we always can do is get after quarterbacks. It turns into turnovers, fumbles, interceptions or sacks. You can't take that kind of beating all the time so teams have to change their game plan a little."
Batavia (5-0, 3-0) fell behind 7-0 on Zach Mettetal's 10-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Hammer.
St. Charles North (3-2, 1-2) tied the game at 14 with 9:18 left in the second quarter on Mettetal's 21-yard scoring strike to his brother Tyler.
It was all Batavia after that. Quarterback Kyle Niemiec, who threw for Batavia's first two scores on passes to Johnny Fitch and Nick Stuttle, gave Batavia a 21-14 lead when he ran 22 yards for a touchdown on a 4th-and-1 play with 4:48 left in the half.
That started the game-deciding 21-point, 2-minute blitz. Batavia senior Zack Majka recovered a fumble on the North Stars' next play from scrimmage and returned it 9 yards for a touchdown.
"We are always a fast and physical defense," Majka said. "That's kind of how our coach trains us. Even in practice we practice recovering fumbles and knocking balls out. It's all just all how our team works together. I'm ready for that fumble or attack right away. I know the guys behind me are ready to pick it up if I miss it."
Like he did in a Week 1 win over Oswego, Piron then called for an onside kick. Ben Paoletti recovered the ball, and Niemiec capped a 48-yard drive with a 5-yard run and 35-14 lead with 2:28 left in the half.
"We had momentum," Piron said. "You could feel it. So let's go for it. The defense felt confident at that moment. We had them on their heels a little bit. It's kind of fun and we trust our kids."
"Great call," St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. "Dennis did a great job preparing the guys. That's a game-changer. I give their coaching staff a ton of credit for making great calls to keep the momentum."
The North Stars never got closer in the second half. Batavia extended its lead to 42-14 on the first of Zach Garrett's two second-half touchdown runs. He finished with 184 yards rushing on 32 carries.
Niemiec completed 13 of 23 passes for 125 yards and ran for 53 more while accounting for 4 touchdowns. Canaan Coffey caught 7 passes for 73 yards for Batavia, who welcomes Naperville Central to town next week for a heavyweight nonconference matchup.
Mettetal threw 24 times, completing 16 for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hammer led the way with 4 catches for 92 yards; Eric Lins rushed for 72 yards and a score.
"We have some things we need to iron out," Pomazak said. "I still feel we are on course for what we want to do."