Batavia football dampens Saints’ homecoming with win

ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles East football team’s homecoming mojo was a sight to behold early in Friday’s game against Batavia.

The Bulldogs, however, are not the ideal homecoming opponent, and they soon made it clear why. After spotting underdog East an early score, the Bulldogs reeled off 40 unanswered points, overwhelming the Saints, 40-7, in Upstate Eight Conference River play.

East (1-3, 1-1 UEC River) rewarded its large homecoming crowd early, methodically driving 80 yards downfield on a 15-play, opening possession and scoring on a 2-yard Ramon Lopez touchdown off a pitch from quarterback Aiden Wright.

East then regained possession immediately when the Bulldogs mishandled a short kickoff but the Saints’ offense couldn’t replicate its early momentum, sputtering the rest of the night.

“We were definitely a little upset but we had to keep our composure,” Batavia defensive tackle Jon Wall said about East’s opening drive. “[Defensive coordinator Matt Holm] calmed us down, and we knew what we had to do.”

Batavia’s first score came on a fourth-and-goal play from East’s 7-yard line with 34 seconds left in the first quarter as quarterback Kyle Niemiec connected with Canaan Coffey for the TD.

“We had thought about [kicking a field goal] a little bit, we do have a very good kicker in Howie (Morgano), but honestly I just felt we needed a touchdown, we needed a score,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “[Offensive coordinator Mike Gaspari] and I are always talking, we like going for it on fourth down. It’s something we’ve done, and that doesn’t seem like an unmakeable play. And Coffey’s a heck of a receiver. That’s who I’d go to, too.”

Trailing 7-6, Batavia took the lead when Noah Frazier barged in for a TD from 2 yards out with a second-effort push. Batavia’s two-point try failed, but the Bulldogs led, 12-7, with 1:58 to go in the second quarter, a lead that remained intact at halftime.

Batavia (3-1, 2-0 UEC River) ramped up its dominance in the third quarter, scoring TDs on three straight possessions to zoom to a 33-7 lead headed to the fourth quarter.

Short, fruitless possessions for East proved disastrous as the game spiraled out of control.

“We’re a hurry-up offense, and when we start going three-and-out, we can’t do that to our defense,” East coach Bryce Farquhar said. “Our offense really has to be able to keep the pace and rhythm going in order to keep the defense rested. That way, there’s a little bit of a balance.”

Lopez (20 carries for 69 yards) found few holes after the opening possession.

“He ran hard but we could contain him,” Wall said. “I made a couple plays, my teammates made a lot of plays. I appreciate that. If everyone does their 1/11th, we can get it done.”

Batavia, meanwhile, was patient and balanced offensively. Rotating quarterbacks Niemiec and Evan Acosta both were effective, and Niemiec added a pair of rushing TDs in the third quarter, including a 48-yarder on a designed run.

Coffey (nine catches for 65 yards) notched a pair of receiving touchdowns, Peyton Piron caught six balls for 79 yards and Blake Crowder supplied 127 rushing yards on 20 carries plus 56 receiving yards on five grabs.

“Their coverage is tough,” Piron said. “It’s so loose, they just aren’t going to give you anything deep. So the opportunity for the explosive plays in the passing game just aren’t there. That was a nice change they made two weeks ago, so we had to throw a lot of passes short, hope we get first downs and yards.”

In each of East’s three losses, the Saints have been in striking distance at halftime, only to see the game take a sharp turn in the second half.

“If I could put my finger on it, we would fix it right away,” Farquhar said.

The Bulldogs, winners of three straight after an opening heartbreaker against Oswego, will face the other St. Charles school next week when North visits Bulldog Stadium.