Batavia’s power formation sparked win over Geneva

Updated: October 3, 2011 9:57PM

Getting comfortable up in the Geneva press box, former Batavia head coach and athletic director Mike Gaspari greeted some members of the media with a smile and handshakes and marveled at how different the game looks from on high.

After 25 years on the Bulldogs’ sidelines, Gaspari is not only enjoying his role as offensive coordinator from up in the booth, but the Bulldogs are reaping the benefits by averaging 43 points per game.

Following the Bulldogs’ convincing 46-34 victory over Geneva Friday night, first-year coach Dennis Piron said Gaspari drew on his extensive knowledge of a soggy, chewed up Burgess Field to implement a game plan few could have expected heading in.

“Coach Gaspari put a couple formations in this week, like he’s Nostradamus over there,” Piron said. “He said let’s put a power formation in this week in case we get a sloppy Burgess Field so we can run the ball on our sideline like they used to run the ball on their sideline, and sure enough that’s what we got.

“His decision to put that formation in and run that power stuff in practice sure paid off. Man alive, good thing we had that ready.”

On the other sideline, Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said his staff was not caught off guard by the Bulldogs’ plan of attack, pointing out the Vikings’ run defense has not been up to par this season.

“That’s the same package they’ve run forever,” Wicinski said. “They’ve got some big bodies. We were worried about the big butts being able to get in there and do that.”

Yet Batavia was able to keep the chains moving in the second half after senior QB Noel Gaspari went out with a shoulder injury, throwing just three times in the second half.

The Bulldogs rotate players on the offensive line, using Nick Pappas, Zack Schoettes, Brock Batka, Ben Link, Tim Wiley, Sebastian Vermaas and Adam Hunger.

Defensive lineman Cole Gardner (6-foot-6, 250 pounds) adds to the line at tight end. Alec Lyons, who doubles as a defensive end as well, can be a punishing lead blocker as well, at 6-1, 245.

Dom Guzaldo is a load to bring down at 6-1, 200, while Alex Moore (5-9, 175) brought some speed to the backfield.

“We played smash-mouth football and we haven’t done that all year,” Piron said. “People said, ‘Your O-line is an issue and your O-line’s not that good,’ but they looked pretty good to me. That’s how we won the football game. We just ran it and pounded it and pounded it.”

Unbeatens still have work to do

Mooseheart, Kaneland and Batavia are the last three unbeaten teams in The Beacon-News coverage area and all clinched playoffs spots Friday night. Now, thoughts turn to conference championships and playoff positioning.

Despite being unbeaten, the road to 9-0 and a top playoff seed is not exactly paved, however.

Batavia (6-0, 3-0) has the easiest road, as it got over its big conference hurdle Friday in beating Geneva. It should roll the next two weeks — even if senior QB Noel Gaspari is out — as Elgin and St. Charles North are a combined 2-10. Week 9 against Streamwood (5-1, 2-1) may be tough without Gaspari, but we’ll see how good the Sabres are as they travel to Geneva this week. If Streamwood loses, that Week 9 game should not matter in the conference standings for the Bulldogs.

After surviving DeKalb on Friday, the Knights (6-0, 2-0) should face fellow unbeaten Morris for the Northern Illinois Big 12 East title in Week 9. Yorkville and Sycamore are both 4-2, but it seems as if they are just a step below the Redskins and Knights in the conference. That said, those teams are one win away from playoff eligibility for a reason.

Then there are the Red Ramblers (6-0, 6-0), who are one of three unbeaten teams at the top of the Northeastern Athletic Conference. Mooseheart hosts one of them on Friday, CICS/Longwood. Then, the Red Ramblers host 5-1 Chicago Hope Academy before traveling 6-0 North Shore Country Day in Week 9.

Sandwich-Plano
game time incorrect

For fans looking to catch the “War on 34” on Friday night, the game time is 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Sandwich. All season the long, the IHSA web site has incorrectly listed the game at 1:30 p.m.

Warden was ready

Not many teams can handle the loss of a starting quarterback, no matter the level of football. Yet over on Eola Road, coach Paul Murphy and his staff always seem to have two QBs that can start. This year has proven to be no different. Senior Mitch Stefani beat out Dylan Warden over the summer and led the Warriors to an impressive 2-0 start with wins over Naperville Central and Oswego.

“I think everybody looks at him like a backup, but he competed all summer, June, July and in the preseason,” Murphy said of Warden. “He and Stefani were dead even, and I decided to go with Mitch because he was a senior and he paid his dues. He’d had a great offseason in the weight room and pretty much gotten the snot beaten out of him as the scout team quarterback by our defense. Dylan had never played in a varsity game, so I wasn’t sure he wasn’t ready for the speed of the game. I knew the Naperville Central game would be speedy, and Mitch performed and Dylan didn’t that night which made the next week easy (to go with Stefani) against Oswego.”

Then, Stefani broke his collarbone on Sept. 9 on the third play of the second half during a loss to Bartlett — Waubonsie’s only blemish on the season — and Warden nearly led the Warriors back from a 20-point deficit.

Following the Warriors victory over Larkin on Friday, Warden is 23-for-43 for 372 yards and five scores against two interceptions. He has also rushed for 212 yards and eight TDs.

“I gave them 50 percent of the reps all year until Mitch’s injury because I knew if something happened to Mitch or Dylan ever caught on to the speed of the game, athletically he is a more gifted athlete,” Murphy said. “Not to take anything away from Mitch who is smart, calm and cool, but Dylan gives you other dimensions that Mitch doesn’t. When Mitch went down in the Bartlett game our kids didn’t panic because they knew what we had coming off the bench. It’s not like we were bringing in someone who can’t catch a snap or can’t run the offense, this kid led the freshman and sophomore teams to 8-1 records and then came up here and competed his tail off for the starting job. I went with Mitch early, but I had all the confidence in the world in Dylan and never ever thought he couldn’t do it. It makes it nice because I know he is coming back next year and hopefully we can play long enough that Mitch will come back and contribute as well at the end of this season.”

Mike Knapp contributed to this report

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.