Caleb Peters was more than ready to get his number called.

After Batavia managed to keep Geneva out of the end zone to start off play in overtime, the senior knew that eventually he’d be on the field to potentially win the game for the Bulldogs.

So when he went out onto the field on third down for a 23-yard field goal to put the game away, he knew that nothing could stop him.

Not even a delay of game penalty to push it to a 28-yarder.

“Obviously, I felt a little more pressure than an average PAT,” Peters said. “But it didn’t really faze me. I knew how much work I put in. This is what I trained for.”

Peters ended up nailing the field goal, which helped the Bulldogs secure a 24-21 victory in the 107th game against the Vikings.

“I mean it’s a great rivalry, that’s how it’s supposed to be played,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “One week we get beat on the last play of the game, and then the next week you win on it. Peters kicked the hell out of it, and we were all good.”

It was just the second time in rivalry history that the game was decided in overtime. The last time it happened was in 2003, when the Bulldogs also won the game 20-17 in four overtimes.

Batavia (4-2 overall, 3-1 DuKane) didn’t lead in the game until there was 7:03 left on the game clock, when Michael Vander Luitgaren took his third consecutive quarterback draw play two yards into the end zone to make it 21-14.

“When we were in the red zone, I went over to (offensive coordinator Sean) Anderson after we ran two runs in a row and I just told him to give me the ball to punch it in,” Vander Luitgaren said. “I had great blocks from the O-Line, it’s really easy to do that when I have a big hole like that.”

Vander Luitgaren ended up finishing the game going 19-of-29 for 249 yards with passing touchdowns to junior wideout Darin Ashiru (seven receptions, 111 yards) and junior running back Charlie Rosengren (10 rushes for 67 yards, two receptions for 26 yards).

And after losing to the Vikings both at the freshman and sophomore levels for the past two seasons, Vander Luitgaren was more than happy to finally be on the winning side of the rivalry.

“I was talking with [Charlie] Rosengren walking in and we were reflecting on our experience on the freshman and sophomore teams,” Vander Luitgaren said. “So it feels good to win. It was a hard-fought game, and it was a battle the entire way.”

Geneva (3-3, 2-2) had a chance to get on the board in their first possession of overtime, but could not find the end zone for the much-needed points.

But despite not getting their first home win in the rivalry since a 31-0 victory back in 2009, Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen was more than happy with how his team hung around the entire contest.

“I’m just so proud of this football team,” Thorgesen said. “What a great compliment it is to be called a tough, hard-nosed football team. It didn’t go our way, but I’m proud of our kids for fighting through the adversity we’ve had through this year.

“The way we performed makes you proud as a coach. We’ll look at this and learn from it. This is going to make us a better football team down the stretch.”

Quarterback Ben Peterson finished the game completing 14-of-24 passes for 336 yards and two passing touchdowns, and added a six-yard rushing score with 4:42 remaining to tie the game at 21-21. Junior receiver Bennett Konkey (seven receptions, 159 yards, touchdown) and Luke Ignoffo (five receptions, 100 yards) each eclipsed the century mark.

“Ben has played tremendous for us recently,” Thorgesen said. “He stood in there and took a lot of hits. He’s been getting better and better for us this season. But man, has he come on and led us. We’re just excited to keep going to battle with that kid because he’s a tremendous player and a heck of a person.”