Saints-Bulldogs matchup win-win for everyone

It may have taken an extra day of waiting for the game to be played, but considering the two teams hadn't faced one another in nearly 43 years, 24 hours seemed like nothing.

On a picture-perfect evening for high school football last Saturday, Batavia played host to St. Charles East.

Since the two schools are located less than 9 miles apart, one would guess they would have become natural longtime gridiron rivals throughout the years.

That's why I was more than a bit surprised when I learned that last weekend's game was just the third meeting between the two teams.

If you remember the supposed first showdown, you've got a great memory -- and you're either approaching your 100th birthday or enjoying life as a centenarian.

I imagine there were few fans sitting in the stands (or for that matter, sitting at all) wearing T-shirts and shorts and I doubt if any of the students were sending text messages to one another during the 1911 game (won 11-6 by Batavia).

In mid-October of 1964, Batavia celebrated its homecoming with a 67-0 pasting of St. Charles during the Saints' final season as a member of the Little Seven Conference.

"Hopefully, we gave those guys (former Saints players) a little bit of respect back," joked Saints coach Ted Monken after last Saturday's surprisingly lopsided 30-7 outcome.

Thanks largely to the efforts of Batavia athletic director/head football coach Mike Gaspari and St. Charles East athletic director Jerry Krieg, the two teams are back playing one another.

While the Saints were victorious last weekend, the ultimate winners were the fans and participants from both schools.

"It was wonderful -- you couldn't have asked for anything better," said Monken. "First game of the year, big crowd -- it really turned out to be a great weekend."

"We're very happy to have added St. Charles East to our schedule," said Gaspari, "and I don't feel any differently now even though we would have liked to have played a better game."

Saints junior tailback Wes Allen, who scored 3 of his team's 4 touchdowns, echoed similar sentiments.

"Just playing in a Tri-Cities rivalry -- it was great," said Allen. "This was one game I was looking most forward to."

Me, too.

Now, my wish is to watch this evolve into an annual 4-team rivalry between Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East and St. Charles North.

Hypothetically, Week 1 matchups would pit Batavia vs. St. Charles East and Geneva vs. St. Charles North. Week 2 games would include Geneva vs. St. Charles East and Batavia vs. St. Charles North.

With St. Charles East already scheduled to play home-and-away contests against Batavia and Geneva during the first two weeks of the 2008 season, my wish is getting closer to reality.

"While we signed a 2-year agreement with Batavia, we hope it's a 102-year deal," said Krieg. "It's a good opening game for the community."

"My hope is for this to be a long-term commitment," added Gaspari. "I can't imagine a better fit. Plus, playing a team like St. Charles East will only make us better."

Next year, Geneva gets to join in on the fun.

"We like to play the St. Charles schools," said Vikings athletic director Jim Kafer. "We already play them in all or most of the other sports.

"Our deal (with St. Charles East) is set up for two years to start with, but the idea is for this to become a long-term situation."

For now, the odd man out is St. Charles North.

However, if North Stars football coach Mark Gould were playing poker, he'd go "all in."

"It would be great," Gould said about the possibility of scheduling back-to-back games against Batavia and Geneva somewhere down the road.

"There would be so much community spirit."

What better way to kick off the first two weeks of the high school football season in the Tri-Cities?