Bodi Anderson throws for three touchdowns in his home debut as Batavia takes down South Elgin 42-14

BATAVIA – The Sept. 6 contest against South Elgin was supposed to be a learning game for Batavia quarterback Bodi Anderson.

After a self-described tough showing in the opening game against Glenbard West, the junior quarterback was using the Week 2 matchup to work on reading the defense.

After finding Isaiah Brown for a 57-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Anderson said he definitely learned something.

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“It made me a lot more comfortable with him and made me realize I can throw it up to him and I can trust he’ll get it,” Anderson said. “The confidence just really kicked in for me.”

That confidence helped Anderson end the first half completing 9 of 14 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns to pace the Bulldogs to a 42-14 victory over the Storm in their home opener.

“I feel like things just started clicking for us in the passing game tonight,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “He just needed to get a rhythm and get used to guys. We haven’t gotten a good chance to get anybody together, so we’re hoping that this will get it going.”

With the win, Batavia heads into conference play with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2021, when the Bulldogs finished regular-season play with a perfect 9-0 mark. Having numerous new starters and surviving Glenbard West and South Elgin, Piron said it’s a good feeling to be 2-0.

“We’re playing teams that typically don’t lose more than a couple games a year,” Piron said. “And those new starters aren’t new starters now after two weeks, so it’s good that we’re getting this experience heading into conference play.”

Brown finished the game with five receptions, 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns. His second score came from 12 yards out at the end of the first half. It was just the second time the senior had more than 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game. The previous time was in last season’s state quarterfinal against Hononegah.

“It felt great coming out here and doing what I need to do like running my routes and going out and giving my everything every play,” Brown said. “And it just all fell to where it was supposed to. And coming out here and translating it to the game felt great.”

The Bulldogs managed to get on the board on fourth down on two occasions. Nathan Whitwell got Batavia’s first points of the game, running 61 yards for a score on fourth-and-1. He added a 35-yard touchdown in the second quarter and finished with 116 yards rushing.

The second fourth-down score came at the start of the second quarter. On a fourth-and-4 on South Elgin’s 15-yard line, Anderson found offensive and defensive lineman Gavin Pecor on a pass play. Pecor dove across the pylon for the score.

“There was a lot of trust to catch that for a big lineman,” Anderson said. “But he enjoyed doing that a lot, so it was a great moment.”

Brett Berggren scored on a 52-yard punt return for Batavia.

South Elgin got both its touchdowns in the second half. Ishmael George caught an 18-yard touchdown pass and Darrion Thurman had a 1-yard rushing touchdown against the Bulldogs’ second-team defense.