Batavia caps unbeaten regular season

Updated: October 21, 2011 11:00PM

It may not have been the perfect final regular season home game, but Cole Gardner will take it.

Gardner caught a touchdown pass and was in on two quarterback sacks in helping Batavia complete an undefeated (9-0) regular season and celebrate an Upstate Eight River (6-0) conference championship in the process with a 49-6 romp over Streamwood on Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

“It was senior night and we wanted to make a statement,” said Gardner, a 6-6, 240-pound tight end. “We came out and just did our thing. We just came out and started pounding kids.”

Gardner hauled in one of five Noah Gaspari touchdown passes, a seven-yard completion on Batavia’s third possession. Gaspari was 13 of 17 for 283 yards and played only one play, a 73-yard touchdown pass play to Zach Strittmatter, in the second half.

Strittmatter also caught a 34-yard touchdown pass with Evan Zeddies (20 yards) and Dom Guzaldo (14 yards) also on the receiving end of Gaspari scoring strikes.

The defense also got in the act. Besides sacking Sabres quarterback Dalton Lundeen five times, Mike Moffatt returned a fumble 70 yards for a score and Robbie Bowman ran back an interception 50 yards for another score.

Streamwood (6-3, 3-3) averted the shutout when Lundeen found Alex Morrow on a 14-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. When not pressured, Lundeen had some success (6 of 16, 93 yards) through the air.

But this night belonged to the Bulldogs, complete with an ice bucket full of water dousing for first-year head coach Dennis Piron.

“Johnny Gray (senior wide receiver) got me,” Piron said with a chuckle. “He tricks the coach then gets him dunked. Johnny Gray is a dirty dog.”

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