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Batavia blows out McHenry

Glenn Albanese was a perfect target for the twin Batavia quarterback attack on Saturday in Class 7A first-round football action.

Albanese caught a trio of passes, including a pair of scoring strikes, to lead the Bulldogs to a 42-12 victory over McHenry Saturday afternoon in Batavia.

The Warriors had scored first, converting on a first-possession Batavia turnover, only to see the Bulldogs respond with three unanswered scores before halftime.

"It's a great feeling to be out there, running around and scoring points," Albanese said. "We weren't deflated at all (after McHenry scored first). We knew we were in control the whole time. It was just a matter of time before our offense came out."

With its one-sided victory, Batavia (8-2) will meet Jacobs in second-round action.

"I know we're going on the road, no matter what happens next week," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "But we're a pretty good road team."

McHenry (6-4) took only 4 plays to cash in from Batavia territory after a fumbled reception placed the ball at the Bulldogs' 41.

Seemingly flat at the outset, the Bulldogs (8-2) soon responded.

"I'll be honest, we were nervous coming out," Piron said.

Thomas Stuttle hauled in a 23-yard scoring strike from Riley Cooper early in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs would never trail again after the successful PAT conversion.

With less than four minutes to play in the second quarter, Albanese capped a five-play drive with a 16-yard scoring reception from Cooper.

The Bulldogs were soon back in business when defensive captain Connor Oroni snared an interception in the equivalent of less than the two-minute warning.

Stuttle had a quick strike on first down to put Batavia in prime position.

Albanese had another snatch 20 seconds before halftime in building Batavia to a 21-6 halftime cushion.

"It's too bad you have to leave (the playoffs) with a loss," McHenry coach Nat Zunkel said. "Batavia is a good football team, a good football program. That's where we're trying to get to."

It would be an arduous task for the Warriors in the second half. Batavia opened its running attack to perfection. Ben Weerts platoons with Cooper at quarterback and had a game-high 102 yards rushing on 13 carries.

"The quarterbacks delivered," Piron said. "We kind of have a two-headed monster there."

Fullback Dana Anderson, also a captain, had 72 yards on 10 carries for the Bulldogs.

But Jeremiah Evers' pair of double-digit touchdown runs proved the end for McHenry in the second half.

"We had a goal to come out here and run the ball," Evers said. "After we got our first defensive stop, we had the momentum after that."

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