Batavia 41, West Chicago 0
Shane Holl was a man possessed for Batavia Friday night, and the rest of the Bulldogs fed off of his example.
The linebacker was a one-man wrecking crew against West Chicago, returning one of his two interceptions for scores while also ending another Wildcats' red-zone possession with a deflection, recovering a fumble and two stops for losses.
The Wildcats fumbled the opening kickoff, enabling Batavia to score its first of three touchdowns in the opening quarter en route to a 41-0 nonconference victory in West Chicago.
The Bulldogs' dominant victory was a statistical aberration; Batavia gained a mere 6 yards through the air and 9 total first downs.
But Batavia also duplicated its first-down total with the same number of takeaways -- six on defense and half as many on special teams -- to frame its one-sided verdict.
"I've never seen that many turnovers (in one game)," said Holl. "The coaches were on us all week (about the Bulldogs' first-week performance against St. Charles East). We're better than that (a 30-6 loss). (The offense) really came out hard. Last week they weren't the offense of a defending state runner-up."
Mike Theriault recovered the Wildcats' opening miscue, and Brian Krolikowski scored the first of his two touchdowns four plays later.
West Chicago (1-1) was in Batavia territory on its opening possession, only to see Holl dart in front of the Wildcats' tight end and go the distance from 65 yards to double the Bulldogs' advantage.
After yet another West Chicago turnover in plus territory, Batavia junior back Bai Kabba burst 32 yards up the middle as the first-quarter horn sounded o cap a 5-play, 63-yard march.
Batavia (1-1) failed to generate much offense over most of the second and much of the third, but the Holl-inspired defensive unit repeatedly took offense to the Wildcats' surges in Batavia territory.
The Wildcats' deepest penetration -- a second-and-goal from the Batavia 5-yard line -- ended with Holl deflecting a West Chicago pass to turn the ball over on downs.
"(Holl) is a really good football player," said Batavia defensive coordinator Dennis Piron. "Not only did he have a great game on the field, but he was calling all of our adjustments and making all the reads. Teams are going to have to watch out for him."
Any remaining suspense was ended when Batavia scored three times in a 57-second span to produce a running clock late in the third.
Krolikowski added an 18-yard romp to accentuate his game-leading 73-yard effort, while Nate Greviskes and Kyle Duhig added to the carnage with scores.
Jake Venchus and Mike Dylla were the offensive leaders for West Chicago.
"It's hard to gauge how well we played defensively," said West Chicago coach John Walters. "We didn't take care of the football."