It's strength against strength as Cary-Grove visits Batavia

It should be fascinating to see how the matchups play out on both sides of the ball in Saturday's 1 p.m. Class 7A quarterfinal between No. 4 Cary-Grove (10-1) and No. 5 Batavia (10-1).

There's the speed of Batavia's punishing defense against the precision of Cary-Grove's triple-option offense.

Then there's Cary-Grove's lightning-quick 3-3-5 defense against Batavia's multidimensional offense.

Statistics say it will be a close one. Cary-Grove scores 35.2 points per game while allowing 10.9; Batavia scores 38.6 points and yields 16.4.

"It should be one of those games people talk about for a long, long time," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said.

Batavia's highflying offense keeps opponents guessing. The Bulldogs have rushed for 2,010 yards and thrown for 2,591.

Batavia quarterback Kyle Niemiec has enjoyed a solid season. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior has completed 178 of 271 attempts for 2,460 yards and 22 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions. He has also rushed for 358 yards and 10 scores.

Niemiec's top receiver is Canaan Coffey. The 6-2, 185-pound senior has 74 receptions for 1,054 yards and 10 touchdowns. He leads a talented group that includes 6-4 senior Cole Stokke (31 rec., 455 yards, 3 TD), 6-5 junior tight end Glenn Albanese (23-360) and 6-foot senior Nick Stuttle (17-235).

If Cary-Grove drops too many men into coverage to take away the pass, the Bulldogs can counter with running back Zach Garrett. The senior has carried 211 times for 1,099 yards and 15 touchdowns.

"They have a great combination of perimeter guys and the running back," Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. "The moment you put too much attention on Coffey, they'll throw to somebody else. Not only do they have good guys, but they all have good size."

The Cary-Grove defense is predicated on speed to the ball. Despite only two returning starters from last year's Class 7A title game, longtime defensive coordinator Don Sutherland again has the Trojans playing at a high level. Only Huntley scored 3 touchdowns in a game against Cary-Grove's first-team defense this season.

The already effective Cary-Grove defense got a shot in the arm in Week 8 when junior fullback Tyler Pennington began his annual two-way stint at linebacker. He has since made 5 solo tackles and 38 assists, forced 2 fumbles and recovered another.

Other difference makers for the Cary-Grove defense include sophomore Max Skol (8 solo, 52 assists), junior linebacker Kevin Pedersen (12 solo, 40 assists, 4.5 sacks), senior defensive back Ben Getka (6 solo, 44 assists) and junior defensive backs Zack Underwood (8 solo, 40 assists, forced fumble) and David Daigle (2 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions).

The Trojans have limited eight of their 11 opponents to 15 points or less and posted 3 shutouts.

"They're a very aggressive group," Piron said. "They play downhill, not unlike us. They are a challenge. They've done an incredible job against teams that were able to score points against other people. All those kids are going in the same direction. They do as they are coached to do and they know their assignments. There's not very much indecision. Because of that they are able to execute their assignments at a high speed."

Cary-Grove quarterback J.P. Sullivan was cleared to return to practice this week after missing two weeks with mononucleosis. He and Bobby Collins, who started the last two games, are both ready to go, Seaburg said.

The Cary-Grove offense remains a run-first attack. The Trojans have gained 3,290 yards on the ground and 718 through the air. The triple option is paced by Pennington, who this season has gained 1,247 of his 4,200 career yards and scored 21 touchdowns in 241 attempts (5.2-yard avg.). Junior Ryan Magel has used his perimeter speed to rush for 642 yards and 6 touchdowns in 63 attempts.

"We'll see how physical our team is," Piron said. "Playing against the option and playing against Cary-Grove are two different things."

Batavia coordinator Matt Holm's defense likes to hit opponents behind the line of scrimmage. The Bulldogs have 48.5 sacks and 77 tackles for loss to their credit. Senior linebacker Colin Thurston (6-2, 210) leads the team with 71 solo tackles and 17 assists, including 11 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Zach Majka (6-3, 210) has 12 tackles for loss among his 78. Senior linebacker Derek Nutley (6-0, 190) leads his team with 15.5 sacks and veteran defensive back Brett Bowman has 3 of Batavia's 7 interceptions.

"We'll have to execute what we do - the triple option, the play-action pass, execute our blocking on the perimeter and blocking at the point of attack, everything we normally do," Seaburg said. "We really feel the moment we have to alter what we're doing based on our opponent, we're going to play slower and not we're not going to execute at the level we need to. We feel comfortable in what we can do. If the other team is better than us, they'll win. If what we do allows us to win, we'll win. Our kids really feel that way and we feel that way as coaches."

Batavia enters equally confident.

"We're in this position for a reason," Piron said. "We feel very good about where we're at with our team offensively and defensively. Our health is excellent, our offensive line is playing well, our wide receivers are playing at a high level and our defense is a very hard-hitting group. I feel fantastic about this team. I'm glad we've earned the right to host a game in this round. It'll be a wonderful atmosphere."