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Batavia QB Gaspari too much for Larkin to handle
Updated: September 10, 2011 12:10AM
During practices for Friday’s game with Larkin, the flu and strep throat ran rampant through Batavia’s unbeaten football team.
“We were really nervous because in the middle of this past week we were having practices and we didn’t have any of our running backs there,” said coach Dennis Piron.
Who needs running backs when quarterback Noel Gaspari is running the show? The senior signal caller lit up Larkin’s secondary Friday for four touchdown passes and 218 yards on 17-of-22 at Elgin’s Memorial Field to trigger a 50-6 romp in both teams’ Upstate Eight River opener.
Gaspari hit Mike Moffatt for an 11-yard score to start the game, threw a 43-yard bomb to Moffatt in the second quarter for a 21-0 lead, connected with Zach Strittmatter on a 10-yarder just before halftime, and finally threw 12 yards to Alex Moore in the third quarter.
“We have those 6-6 receivers, Zach Strittmatter and Cole Gardner and Evan Zeddies is very fast, and Michael Moffatt is just a sophomore but had an unbelievable game, too with some very nice TD catches,” Gaspari said. “Doing that to their corners is just real fun, too.”
Strittmatter made nine catches for 113 yards, while Moffatt had four for 71 yards.
The ease with which Batavia (3-0, 1-0) threw the ball during an off-and-on rain impressed Royals coach Mike Scianna.
“He’s got such a command of the game,” Scianna said of Gaspari, who had 181 yards on 12-of-17 passes by halftime with Batavia leading 28-0. “We had our best guy (Justin) Banks on their receiver (Strittmatter) and he was still able to do that.”
About all the Royals coach could do was laugh and describe Gaspari’s performance by referring back to a story from when he coached at Montini for Chris Andriano.
“Chris Andriano’s son (Matt) was playing and the other coach said ‘we lost this game 17 years and 9 months ago with that quarterback,’” Scianna said. “It’s one of my favorite lines of all time.”
Scianna came away happy the Royals were able to gain some momentum for next week with a 1-yard TD run by Mo Jackson (12 carries, 40 yards) on the game’s final play.
“They (Batavia) were huge, and fast but our kids battled up there all night,” Scianna said.
Larkin trailed 14-0 after the first Moffatt TD reception and Anthony Thielk’s 5-yard TD run, but drove to the 6-yard line early in the second quarter before being turned back on downs.
Batavia’s defense, which held Larkin (1-2, 0-1) to five first-quarter offensive yards, still hasn’t allowed a first-half score this season.
“That was really the first time in a game where we were challenged,” Pirot said. “It was 14-0 and we had to stop somebody and I was really proud of the defense, and then we marched back down the field quickly on offense.”
Alec Lyons had a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter and then Moore’s TD on a short catch and run triggered the running clock rule. Moore, who led Batavia with 60 rushing yards on five carries, scored on a 21-yard run with reserves on the field with 4:03 remaining.
It will get considerably tougher next week for Batavia against Bartlett.
“We haven’t played the toughest competition these three weeks,” Gaspari said. “Next week is the test.”
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