Kane County notes: Taking a look at where the Tri-City teams stand heading into rivalry week

While Week 6 of high school football is usually a key week for teams to gear up for a final push for playoff positions, it’s a lot more than that for the likes of Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East and St. Charles North.

For them, it’s a week that’s circled on every player’s calendar from the start of the year.

It’s rivalry week. And this season, there’s a lot of hype around it.

From a showdown of undefeated teams, to two teams with young talent clashing in a crosstown game, here’s a look at how the Tri-City teams stand heading into their rivalry matchups.

Batavia’s defense makes statement in big win over Wheaton North

The defensive prowess of the Bulldogs has always been present since Matt Holm was named defensive coordinator back in 2011. But for the first time in 13 seasons, Holm has a secret weapon that has helped the Bulldogs look in postseason form so early in the season.

That secret? His retirement from teaching at the end of the 2023 school year.

“Last year, he was teaching classes. This year, what does he do all day long?” Batavia head coach Dennis Piron said after a 41-0 victory over Wheaton North on Friday. “He’s a football coach all day.

“It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened since Mike Gaspari was an offensive coordinator all day when he retired. The kids are in tune with them. They’re all on the same page, and when they get flying around, it’s just a beautiful thing.”

Leading the way for Batavia so far has been defensive lineman Xavier Blanquel and defensive back Chase Osborne. Blanquel has been the driving force up front, leading the team with six sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. Osborne, on the other hand, has been making plays all over the field, leading the team with 58 tackles and five deflected passes, while also having 10 TFL, two fumble recoveries, 1.5 sacks and an interception.

While the defense had been great in its first four games, the Bulldogs’ Week 5 match against Wheaton North gave a full glimpse at how good they could be. Batavia only allowed 21 yards of total offense, including -13 rushing yards, while also putting up season-high numbers in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (18).

The win takes the Bulldogs into their rivalry game against Geneva with a 5-0 record for the second time in four seasons. And with the Vikings sporting a top-10 offense in the state, Piron knows that the defense will have to be at their best yet again to extend his win streak over the Vikings to 14 games.

“It’s going to be, hopefully, one of the greatest games that’s ever been played in our area,” Piron said.

Despite slight setback, Geneva, Talyn Taylor continues hot start on offense

While Batavia got a rather lopsided victory in its Week 5 game where everything went right, Geneva saw everything go wrong in the first quarter against Glenbard North.

After the Panthers scored an early touchdown and put up a safety, the Vikings saw themselves trailing by two possessions for the first time all season. It would also be the first time that they were shut out of a quarter with all their starters on the field. That streak wouldn’t last very long, though, as the Vikings wiped away the deficit quickly and used an explosive third quarter to take a 38-12 victory.

According to head coach Boone Thorgesen, playing through the adversity was something that his players needed to experience, especially with how the first four games have went.

“It felt like everything has been going our way over the last couple weeks,” Thorgesen said. “But I was just happy with how they finished out the the game and took care of business on a night where it didn’t go our way.”

Leading the charge back was wide receiver and Georgia commit Talyn Taylor, who only needed four catches to put up 183 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His three scores, a feat he’s had in two other games this season, also secured the school record for most receiving touchdowns in a career with 26.

The ability to score on minimal plays has been a staple for Geneva so far this season. So far, the Vikings have scored 250 points this season, but have also run less than 40 offensive plays in all but one of their games so far this season, with the exception coming in Week 3 against Wheaton Warrenville South. In addition, quarterback Tony Chahino has completed 42 passes this season, with 21 of them going for touchdowns.

While the Vikings know that the connection between Chahino and playmakers like Taylor, wide receiver Finnegan Weppner and running back Michael Rumoro have been strong so far, Thorgesen knows that a strong defense like Batavia will be trying its best to put the pressure on them and try to take away the explosiveness that they’ve seen all season.

“They’re going to try and limit us getting the ball to our athletes, and it’s going to be a great chess match,” Thorgesen said. “You’ve really got to prepare. That’s what they make you do with their defense, and I think our offense makes other defenses stay on their feet. It’s going to be a great battle, and hopefully we can make enough plays to come away with a win.”

St. Charles East sports best offense since 2019

To say St. Charles East hasn’t been an offensive powerhouse since the turn of the decade would be an understatement.

In three full seasons since the COVID season in 2020, the Saints had failed to put up over 120 points in a season, with their closest attempt coming after scoring 113 points over nine games in 2022.

Fast forward to 2024, and the Saints only needed five games to eclipse that mark.

Their 27 points in a 27-21 overtime victory over Lake Park put them at 143 points on the season, the most they’ve had since putting up 235 points in 2019, where they went 7-3 and also also last defeated their crosstown rivals.

Part of the success, head coach Nolan Possley said, has come from a young core that has jelled together so far this season.

“We just have a lot of good playmakers that makes us tough to defend,” Possley said. “The way that we can spread the field out and really take advantage of what’s in front of us, and the way (quarterback) JT Padron has been able to really own the offense, puts us in the best situation possible in a lot of cases.”

While Padron was a big factor in the first two games of the season, running back Xander Salazar has come up big for the Saints to start conference play. The junior has put up three-straight 100+ yard rushing performances over the last three games and scored eight touchdowns, including the game-winner over Lake Park.

But while the Saints’ start has been great, they’ll face a gauntlet to end the season, starting with their Week 6 match against St. Charles North and following it up with home games against Batavia and Geneva. Possley said that while the offense has been the main showcase throughout the first half, he knows the defense will have to continue to step up as well.

“We know what’s in front of us here with conference play,” Possley said. “Going through the Tri-Cities through the next three games, we need to understand that our opponents are really tough, and we’re excited to face the challenge.”

St. Charles North comes from behind again in nail-biting win over WW South

On the first day of official practices, St. Charles North quarterback Ethan Plumb talked about being prepared for the unexpected, especially in the waning minutes of a football game.

“Sometimes it comes down to those last-second things like a last-minute throw or run in football, you just never know,” Plumb said back on August 12. “So as long as you prepare for that before the season comes, we’re going to be ready for when that moment comes that we’re going to get it done when the game’s on the line.”

Since then, the North Stars have been faced with those last-minute situations twice. Once in Week 1 against Palatine, and again last Friday against WW South.

And both times, North has prevailed.

In their more recent comeback victory, the North Stars used two touchdowns over a 37-second span in the final minute of play to take down the Tigers 37-32. After Plumb had a 1-yard touchdown run to bring the score to 32-30, the North Stars successfully recovered an onside kick and marched down the field before Plumb found Braden Harms on an 18-yard pass for the go-ahead score.

“We’re never out of it,” Plumb said after the win. “It was very similar to the situation we faced against Palatine. It’s on us to make big plays. The belief never wavers.

“Anything can happen at any moment. The offensive line did a great job at the end giving me time, the receivers made plays, the defense got stops and we got the huge special teams play on the onside kick. I was thinking just give us one more chance and we’ll make it happen.”

With the win, the North Stars survived a tough opening stretch to conference play with wins over both WW South and Wheaton North, while suffering their lone loss to Batavia in Week 4. They’ll face off against the Saints, who they’ve beaten in each of the last four matchups, in Week 6 before taking on Glenbard North and Lake Park, who both currently are winless in conference play, in the coming weeks.