Batavia football cements outright UEC River title with win over Streamwood

BATAVIA – The Batavia football team ended its regular season with an exclamation point Friday night.

By beating Streamwood, 40-7, the Bulldogs clinched their fourth straight Upstate Eight Conference River title outright, again in unbeaten fashion. The defending IHSA Class 6A state champion Bulldogs (8-1, 7-0 UEC River) will head into the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak after dropping their season opener to Oswego.

Batavia’s stingy defense frustrated the Sabres all night long.

While Streamwood quarterback Max Draper completed 26 of his 48 passing attempts for 257 yards, his squad only scored one touchdown and entered the red zone twice.

The Bulldogs intercepted three of Draper’s passes, with two of them setting up Batavia scores. The defense also foiled four fourth-down conversion attempts.

Streamwood (3-6, 3-4 UEC River) did not score until late in the fourth quarter.

Draper connected with Cody Jayko on a 7-yard scoring play.

Batavia employed a balanced attack on offense – gaining 210 yards on the ground and 191 yards through the air.

Quarterbacking duties were split among Kyle Niemiec, Evan Acosta and Greg Drake. Niemiec was 7 for 12 for 79 yards with no interceptions, while Acosta completed 8 of 12 for 87 yards and also had no picks.

The Bulldogs scored three rushing touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Noah Frazier had the first score on an 8-yard run. Zach Garrett scored the next two touchdowns on runs of 10 and 5 yards. The senior running back gained 146 yards on 13 carries. Canaan Coffey had six receptions for 92 yards.

Garrett scored his third touchdown of the evening with 1:37 left in the half on a 4-yard run, making the score 33-0 at halftime.

Acosta scored the team’s final touchdown on the night in the third quarter on a 7-yard keeper.

The Bulldogs will gather to learn their playoff path tonight.

“This is our fourth year in a row as conference champs and the team is very proud of that fact,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “A lot people coming into the season were wondering if we would be able to be any good at all. The players proved that hard work, determination and everyone going in the same direction can mean an awful lot.”

Batavia 40, Streamwood 7

STREAMWOOD     0    0    0    7    -    7

BATAVIA        21    12    7    0    -    40

HOW THEY SCORED First Quarter B: Frazier 8 run (Morgano kick) 6:09 B: Garrett 10 run (Morgano kick) 4:41 B: Garrett 5 run (Morgano kick) 46.9 Second Quarter B: Coffey 34 pass from Niemiec (kick failed) 7:14 B: Garrett 4 run (2 point conversion failed) 1:37 Third Quarter B: Acosta  7 run (Morgano kick) 2:52  Fourth Quarter S: Jayko 7 pass from Draper  5:21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING – Streamwood: Draper 4 – minus 3, Adkins 7-12, Bowens 2-22,  Polich 1-22  Totals: 14-28 Batavia:  Niemec 2-27, Crowder 5-24, Garrett 13-146, Frazier 1-8, Acosta 4- minus 3, Thomas 2-23  Totals:  27-225. PASSING – Streamwood: Draper 26-48-3-257,  Batavia: Niemec 7-12-0-79, Acosta 8-10-0-81, Drake 1-1-0-25  RECEIVING – Streamwood:  Droll 3-24, Adkins 7-41, Jayko 9-128, Polich 6-62, Bowens 2-2,  Totals: 26-248 . Batavia: Coffey 6-92, Piron 2-18, Crowder 3-15, Fitch 1-16, Stuttle 1-6, Nutley 2-24, Albanese 1-15. Total 16-191.      TOTAL OFFENSE – Streamwood 285, Batavia 416

SOPHOMORE GAME  – Batavia 66, Streamwood 22