Kane County Chronicle Football Notebook: Batavia WR Isaiah Brown making presence felt in passing attack

BATAVIA – Isaiah Brown had his first taste of the vivacious Batavia football crowd atmosphere in the postseason as a visitor last November.

After transferring from Yorkville to Batavia over the summer, it didn’t take long for the 6-foot-1 junior wideout to endear himself to Bulldogs faithful.

Last Friday in their season-opening win over Phillips, Brown debuted with four catches for 69 yards and one touchdown.

“Just walking in from the locker room – the band bringing us out – it was a great feeling and everything,” Brown said. “Walking out and seeing the crowd, they put us up, you know what I’m saying?”

Brown was one of six receivers with at least one catch, a nod to the versatility and variety Batavia implemented in its passing attack. Other standouts included Charlie Whelpley (six catches, 93 yards), Pat McNamara (five catches, 63 yards), Luke Alwin (three catches, 26 yards) and CJ Valente (two catches for 35 yards).

“My role in this offense is whatever they need me to do, depending if I got to go deep, stay short,” Brown said. “Rollout, whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do for them.

“...We got everybody, we all work together,” Brown continued. “Every receiver, there’s not one of us that can’t make a play. Every single one of us is capable of making a play and we all made some great plays.”

Brown proved particularly crucial in moving the chains on a pair of early drives in the first quarter. On Batavia’s opening drive, Brown broke open for a 36-yard strike that set the table for quarterback Ryan Boe’s rushing score two plays later. The next drive, Brown had an eight-yard catch that was further extended due to a roughing the passer penalty. Two plays later, Boe found Alwin for his first passing touchdown of the season.

“It was definitely huge having him come in [to our program],” Boe said. “That’s just another weapon, honestly. Having more weapons, you can never go wrong. It’s just nice having him here. He’s learned the offense. He’s doing good and [I’m] getting really close with him, so it’s just nice having him here.”

St. Charles North special teams off to solid start

St. Charles North senior kicker Hunter Liszka’s set-up prior to field goal attempts is meticulous, but proves to bring impeccable results.

While awaiting the snap from senior Lincoln Epstein and subsequent hold from senior Aidan Leal, Liszka backpedals, sidesteps into his windup path, points his toes, gauges wind direction and times his run-up on the snap. It’s all to ensure his best chance for a successful kick.

The attention to detail and synchronicity with his special teams unit are contributing factors for why Lizska has developed into one of the most consistent kickers in the DuKane Conference.

“If you don’t do the little details, then it’s not going to work out,” Liszka said. “I’m very hard on making sure everything is perfect; not everything is going to be perfect. It’s how you attack that.”

Last Friday in the North Stars’ 37-34 victory over Palatine, Lizska was 3-for-3 in field goals, 4-for-4 in extra points and launched five touchbacks. Furthermore, during North’s run to the Class 7A quarterfinals last season, Liszka was a perfect 30-for-30 on extra points and 7-of-8 on field goal attempts.

“...I had a good season last year. I need to have a great season this year,” Liszka said. “I feel like the more I attack it, the more I pinpoint all the details, the better it’s going to be.”

Epstein, Leal and Liszka typically spend extra time on kicking scenarios and situations two to three times per week following practice.

“...I feel like it’s good to have a good connection,” Liszka said. “If I don’t know my snapper and my holder; we’re better when we all have the same mindset. If we’re not all together, we’re not all friends, we’re not spending time with each other, it’s just not going to be as [effective].”

“I think it’s amazing how good he is,” Epstein said. “Without him, our special teams wouldn’t be where it is. I’d say he basically the leader of our special teams.”