High school football: Stakes still high for St. Charles North, Batavia football in regular season finale

BATAVIA – When the 2016 football schedules came out and a Week 9 matchup between St. Charles North and Batavia loomed, there was talk that a sixth consecutive Bulldogs Upstate Eight River title would come down to that game.

Despite both coming in with a loss to what appears to be the outright UER champions in St. Charles East – the program’s first conference title since 2009 as long as they take care of 2-5 Streamwood at home on Oct. 21 – there is still much at stake when the North Stars (7-1, 4-1 UER) head to Batavia (7-1, 4-1) on Oct. 21 with the postseason knocking at the door.

"They're clearly a team we want to beat and we're a team they want to beat," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "There's still a ton at stake. Honestly who knows what could happen in the game of football, so I'm not going to be disrespectful enough to think that we aren't still playing for the conference in this game. [St. Charles North] play a very physical, tough brand of football and we are prepared for that exact kind of game."

It would be fair to say, and both coaches have admitted so, that Batavia will see the best defense it has seen all season, while the North Stars will go up against the most versatile offense of their season.

North comes in having allowed just 43 points this season, which is an average of 5.3 points per game. The Bulldogs come in scoring over 36 points per game, which presents a battle that North feels will be won at the line of scrimmage.

"They have a lot of size up front, so first and foremost I think winning the line of scrimmage is important," North defensive captain and senior middle linebacker Jack Wolf said. "They like to run the ball a lot, so discipline at the line and not being afraid to be physical with them is big for us."

"I think you have to win the line of scrimmage," North coach Rob Pomazak said. "[Batavia] runs what they run very well and use their personnel extremely well. If we tackle well and control the line of scrimmage, you have to think we like our chances."

Pomazak noted that not only do the Bulldogs use their personnel well, but use each of them very effectively. One spot where the North Stars will have to key in on is the quarterback situation for Batavia. Throughout the season, Piron has used junior Riley Cooper (768 passing yards, eight total TDs) and senior Ben Weerts (342 rush yards, 11 total TDs) in different formations.

Though each signal-caller has their own strengths and packages they run more effectively, Pomazak said he will "leave no stone unturned" when preparing for the Bulldogs' attack with additional running threats like Reggie Phillips, Dana Anderson and Matt Huizinga. Colin Cheaney, Thomas Stuttle and Glenn Albanese pose big threats through the air for Batavia.

"Batavia self scouts very well, and knows how to break tendencies throughout the season," Pomazak said. "You have to think each quarterback by Week 9 can run their entire offense."

Cooper expects it to be difficult to throw the ball with the size up front that North will bring, but also feels like his coaching staff has done a great job in preparing a game pan for him and Weerts to succeed.

"We each know why we are in the game," Cooper said of himself and Weerts. "We never want to have another game like [the 28-7 loss to St. Charles East on Sept. 23], so our demeanor has completely changed this season since then. We've scouted and prepared really well for this game and we're expecting to see everything."

The Batavia offense against the North defense is surely a matchup to key in on, but the Bulldogs will also have their hands full with the up tempo offense of the North Stars. Scoring over 40 points per game, and having the ability to rest his starters in many fourth quarters, the North Stars will likely lean on the right arm of quarterback Zach Mettetal (20 total TDs) and the legs of standout running back Eric Lins (657 yards, 10 TDs).

Adam Durocher and Lucas Segobiano have been used the most in the North passing game.

Regardless of each team's loss to the Saints and the ever so slight letdown of this game changing from being a potential matchup of conference unbeatens, both Pomazak and Piron know this will be much like a playoff game before the postseason hits the following week.

"We feel on film that this will be the best all-around team we will have faced this season," said Piron, who called this week leading up to the North game his team's best and most focused week of practice this season.

"It's nice for a couple reasons. One, we're both already in the playoffs, but you're also not going to get much tougher of an opponent over the next six weeks," said Pomazak, who is seeking his first ever win against Batavia. "It's essentially a playoff game before the playoffs. We haven't beaten them in a while, but also they are a quality program and you always want to play well against quality programs heading into the playoffs."

Playoff seeding will also be on the line in this one. The game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium as Batavia tries to remain unbeaten on its new turf field.