Kane County notes: Big time defensive showings carry Batavia, Geneva and St. Francis through quarterfinals

College football Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant once said the phrase “Defense wins championships.”

And while it was only the quarterfinal round of the IHSA football playoffs, the defense played a big part in helping three Kane County area teams find themselves one step closer to winning the state title.

From Batavia shutting down a potent Downers Grove North offense in Class 7A, to Geneva’s five turnover day against Lake Forest in 6A, as well as St. Francis keeping Sycamore off the scoreboard in 5A. Here’s a look at how the teams made their wins happen.

Batavia defense stagnates Owen Lansu, Downers Grove North

Batavia has had more than a few games where it’s needed big defensive efforts to grind out a victory.

But none as bigger than in its quarterfinal against Downers Grove North.

The Bulldogs limited the high-flying Trojans to just 163 total yards in the game as well as a lone touchdown to grind out a 17-7 victory over the reigning Class 7A runner-ups.

Part of that success came from putting the pressure on junior QB and Minnesota commit Owen Lansu. The Bulldogs finished the game with 14 quarterback hurries, including six from defensive lineman Malachi Smith. The pressure helped limit the star pass slinger to just 146 yards through the air, while also forcing an interception midway through the game.

“Our game plan was to come out aggressive. We were not going to let them throw the ball all over us, give them time in the pocket,” said senior DB Chase Osborne, who led the team with eight tackles in the game. “We have the most athletic DB group in Batavia history, I think.”

The defense also managed to stifle the rush game, holding the Trojans to just 17 rushing yards. It marks the fourth time this season that the Bulldogs have held a team to under 20 rushing yards in a game.

“That’s just credit to the big, scary dudes up front, Malachi, Xavier [Blanquel] and all our linebackers. I’d be out of sync, too,” Osborne said. “They take care of the hard stuff. Our job is easy.”

The defensive effort to be just enough as well, as Batavia’s offense managed to put up two touchdowns, a feat that only three teams managed to achieve against the Trojans during the regular season, as well as a field goal to help the Bulldogs make it back to the state semifinals for the third straight season.

Geneva’s five turnovers more than enough to help take down Lake Forest

Geneva’s offense has been a main focal point to the team’s success throughout the season, but the defense has had its fair share of moments in the spotlight as well.

And in the quarterfinals, it got more than enough chances.

The Vikings’ four interceptions and fumble recovery helped give the offense great field position, which led to an eventual influx of points as Geneva churned out a 49-14 victory over Lake Forest to advance to its first state semifinal game since 2016.

Of those five turnovers, three of them resulted in touchdowns on offense, which led to the first team getting subbed off by the end of the third quarter, with the score at 49-14.

“Good teams that keep advancing at this time of the year play complementary football,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. “I think this was our best game of the year playing complementary football. Our defense was lights-out, our offense capitalized on the turnovers the defense created.”

Their five turnovers is the most Geneva has had since Week 2 of the 2020 season, when its forced five turnovers against St. Charles East.

Of the five, four of them came from interceptions, which was the first time the Vikings have done that since picking off Glebard North four times in Week 3 of 2022.

While the feeling of getting to the semifinals is a great feeling, especially off the back of a great defensive effort, Geneva’s eyes are now locked in on Cary-Grove, who ended its 2023 season with a 41-7 victory over the Vikings.

“We’re locked in,” linebacker Troy Velez said. “A lot of us on that side of the ball have been playing together for a number of years and this is the most locked in we’ve ever been. We know we have quite the test [this] week and we’re going to do our homework and be ready to go.”

St. Francis hands Sycamore first shutout since 2019

There were a lot of questions heading into the game on if St. Francis’ high-flying offense could break through Sycamore’s stout defense, which had only given up more than 20 points once in a season.

And while Sycamore’s defense ended up proving those questions correctly, most people weren’t prepared for St. Francis’ defense to outdo them.

Yet, St. Francis ended up doing just that, holding Sycamore scoreless in a 10-0 victory to advance to the state semifinals for the second straight season.

The game marked Sycamore’s first scoreless outing since 2019, where they suffered a 13-0 loss to DeKalb in Week 2. Meanwhile, St. Francis recorded its second shutout of the season, with the first coming in a 42-0 win in Week 2 against Missouri’s Lift for Life Academy

“I thought we had a really good game plan on what they do,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “Our kids were flying around making plays. [Burke Gautcher] is an unbelievable quarterback, but we just stuck to our game plan and tried not to give up the big plays like we have in the past.”

St. Francis’ defense also made sure to come up clutch in the second half, especially after Sycamore found itself in St. Francis territory in their final four drives, with three of those at the 25 or closer. St. Francis ended up stopping Sycamore on fourth down on three of those occasions, while Sycamore missed a 42-yard field goal on the fourth.

The ability to stop a team that averaged 40 points a game heading into the contest will be crucial for St. Francis, especially with a rematch against Nazareth quickly approaching in the 5A state semifinals.