Ari Bigda is still getting used to throwing a football.

A third baseman for St. Charles East in the spring, the junior still finds herself using the same mechanics to throw a softball when going to throw a pass.

But she admits that her time on the diamond has definitely translated to success on the football field.

“Probably the biggest thing is my arm,” said Bigda, who also plays basketball for the Saints in the winter. “I think it also helps with my footwork and just moving around and seeing the options are on the field.”

And in her DuKane Conference debut, it showed.

Bigda ended up throwing for 111 yards while also rushing for 62 yards and three total touchdowns as the Saints got a 18-0 victory over Wheaton-Warrenville South for their first-ever win in conference play.

“We were very excited to get our first conference play in,” Saints coach Zach Hendry said. “We’re a small team, but we’ve got some studs, and they came up to play. I mentioned that fundamentals were the key, and we’re really hitting our stride.”

Bigda got the Saints (3-3, 1-0 DuKane) out to an early lead with touchdown passes on their first two possessions, with the junior finding senior and basketball teammate Addie Schilb from 12 and nine yards out to make it 12-0 by the end of the first quarter.

Bigda added another Saints score on a one-yard rushing touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.

“Having that lead gives you a little more comfort,” said Schilb, who also added 30 rushing yards in the game. “You can take your time on offense and know on defense that you have a little bit of a gap if things happen. So it definitely gave us that energy boost to keep us going.”

Bigda also made sure to share the wealth with her pass selections in the game. Freshman Brynn Maple led the Saints with five receptions for 41 yards and junior Erini Vardalos added three catches for 25 yards.

“I love seeing that I have different options,” Bigda said. “I think that’s my favorite thing of it all. My favorite side is my right, but I need to go more to my left. But when I do, it’s always open.”

The early offensive explosion was more than enough for the defense to deal with. Schilb had two of the Saints’ five interceptions in the game, with Bigda, junior Sophia Rivas and freshman Tessa Mallon also taking passes the other way.

“Our defense was lock-down,” Hendry said. “Everyone’s buying in at this point, and we’re looking forward to more conference games and getting our name out there.”

The Tigers (1-5, 0-1) meanwhile took a bit for their defense to get into full gear. But come the second half, they managed to shut down the Saints.

Sophomore AJ Zielinski led the defensive effort for the Tigers, getting the team’s lone interception while also making a key stop on a goal-line stand midway through the fourth quarter.

“Defensively they really stepped up,” Tigers coach Kevin Farley said. “We were put in some tough spots in our own zone and they stepped up. Part of that is they’re really trying to learn the defense and do the best they can. Because they know that in conference play, we’ve got to start being better.”

The Tigers only managed 37 yards on offense, with a 20 yard connection from freshman Mya Williams to senior Taylor Artman being their only play of over 10 yards.

“We’re just going to keep building on those few mistakes that we made on defense,” Farley said. “Offensively, we’re still trying to find a couple of pieces that fit together to help us make some longer drives down the field, and that’s for us coaches to figure out positionally.”