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Football: Batavia rolls past Lakes into semis
Updated: November 12, 2011 9:51PM
In the first round of the Class 6A playoffs, Batavia was shell shocked, behind by 21 points at the half after an undefeated regular season.
But the Bulldogs pulled themselves out of that hole, winning the game against Niles Notre Dame. Round 2 was a much less stressful win over Lake Forest.
Saturday, Batavia looked like playoff veterans in dispatching Lakes 42-0 in the Class 6A quarterfinals. The Bulldogs will host a playoff semifinal for the first time in school history next Saturday at 1 p.m. against Prairie Ridge, who was an impressive 35-7 winner over East Suburban Catholic champion Nazareth Saturday.
“These kids, it was the first time they were ever in a playoff game and had to win it,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said, looking back to Round 1. “They had to figure it out. We have been playing better each week and I’ve been proud of the effort. That was a great team effort tonight.”
There were no worries of falling behind 28-7 like they did against Notre Dame Saturday. After Lakes junior Direll Clark mishandled the opening kickoff, bringing it out to only the 13-yard-line with a stiff wind bearing down on them, the Eagles were in a bad position that they could not find their way out of.
A holding penalty put the ball at the 8-yard line, making a punt all the more difficult. Batavia senior Cole Gardner made it moot all together by breaking free up the middle and blocking the punt. His childhood buddy, Austin Lewis, pounced on it in the end zone to give Batavia a quick, 7-0 lead on the road.
“He reached out and grabbed it, I just kind of fell on top of him,” Gardner said. “I knew other guys were coming. I just thought I’d cover him up. I let him have it.”
The field position would get no better for Lakes (9-3). In its first four possessions, all going into the wind, the Eagles’ average starting field position was the 13-yard line. They did not record one first down, giving Batavia great field position with the wind at its back repeatedly, and the Bulldogs (12-0) took advantage.
“The first 21 points were a blocked punt and they had good field position, and they took advantage,” Lakes quarterback Chris Hoffman said. “We got backed up too much. We couldn’t get out of the hole.”
A four-yard touchdown run from Alex Lyons and a 16-yard pitch and catch from Noel Gaspari to Gardner opened a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, and Batavia was never threatened from there.
“We just came out knowing that we wanted to take it back to Batavia for a chance to win a state title,” said Gardner, who also caught a four-yard touchdown pass and forced a fumble on the day. “We knew we had to come out and completely dominate from the beginning of the game, and that’s what we did.”
Now Batavia will have a chance to return to the state championship game for the second time in school history (2006 was the first), and will have its home crowd there to support them. A win would set a new school record for wins in a season, as well.
“We’ve never had a semifinal game at home,” Gaspari said. “It will be rocking.”
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