Michael Vander Luitgaren was more than happy to share the wealth for the Batavia offense.

The junior quarterback didn’t care if it was a wide receiver, a running back or a tight end. His goal was to get the ball to everyone who could catch a football.

And that showed by the end of the first half against Glenbard East, with eight different players recording a catch.

“They were just getting open, finding space and getting me those yards,” he said. “I’m just throwing them the ball, they’re making all the plays for me.”

Vander Luitgaren set the pace for the 13th-seeded Bulldogs, finishing with 263 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 42-21 victory over the No. 4 Rams on Friday night.

“When I can throw to eight different guys in the first half, it changes the whole perspective of the game,” Vander Luitgaren said. “Because after that, I know who I can pick on the defense to go to and know my guy’s going to make a play. That’s just really easy when all of our guys are talented enough to make an explosive play.”

With the win, Batavia (9-2) advances to its fourth straight Class 7A quarterfinal, where it will face the winner of No. 5 Moline and No. 21 Glenbard North.

“Everything was looking really good out there” Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron said. “Glenbard East is a very gamey group of kids. They played their butts off. But we felt that this was the outcome, and we’re glad we’re still dancing.”

Senior Brett Berggren and junior Darin Ashiru got the most love from Vander Luitgaren in the contest. Ashiru had four receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns, while Berggren had three receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, which came with 14 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 28-0 lead.

The Bulldogs also made sure to establish the run game in the contest. Senior Henry Hahn led the way with 17 rushes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Preston Brummel wasn’t far behind, rushing 12 times for 51 yards and a score while also adding 31 receiving yards.

“I think it’s just so good that all of our running backs are able to carry the ball and block for each other extremely well,” Piron said. “The way they’ve worked all year has been very special.”

The Rams (9-2), meanwhile, struggled out of the gate, being held scoreless in the first half for the first time all season. Despite the early struggles, coach John Walters challenged his team to try and make something of the game in the second half.

“They just dictated the pace in the first half and we weren’t on the details,” Walters said. “We just told the guys that this isn’t how we play ball. Let’s go out on our own terms. If we’re going out and turning in our gear let’s do it our way. And they responded there in the second half.”

A lot of that fight came from senior quarterback Michael Nee. The South Dakota basketball commit had 220 of his 313 passing yards in the second half, while also throwing for three touchdowns.

“That’s kind of been our theme this year, that we’re fighters,” Nee said. “It was a tough first half, but none of us wanted to go out scoreless. I wish we could’ve had that in the first half, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to fight and we did that.”

Senior Lucas Freese and junior Malachi Miller each finished with 88 receiving yards and a touchdown. Senior Muhammad Musleh added 117 yards, while senior Henry Benka added a 10-yard touchdown catch.

“We knew we had to do something, I didn’t want to go out with a goose egg,” said Nee, who finished his career leading the Rams in four different passing categories. “After that first touchdown, we just got some momentum there. And after that it was just bombs away trying to make something happen with the season on the line.”

The Rams were looking to make just their second quarterfinal appearance in school history with a win. Glenbard East graduates 28 seniors from the three-time Upstate 8 Conference champions.

“A lot of these things that the seniors did was history around here,” Walters said. “We’re just an emerging program still and we want to eventually get to where Batavia is at. This is a team that you see and just tell everyone that this is where we want to get to and this is what we’ve got to do.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2025/11/08/batavia-sets-tone-early-advances-to-fourth-straight-class-7a-quarterfinal-with-win-over-glenbard-east/