Duhig provides spark for Batavia
Batavia coach Mike Gaspari had no trouble finding bright spots in the Bulldogs' season-opening loss to St. Charles East.
Take senior running back Kyle Duhig. Only 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, Duhig ran effectively filling in for the injured Bai Kabba.
Duhig finished with 67 yards on 9 carries. Most of his yardage came on draw plays, as he used shifty moves to break into the St. Charles East secondary for several long gains.
"Kyle is a quality young man and an excellent football player," Gaspari said. "He's just not as big and fast as J.R. (Kabba). He's a very good football player. Obviously there's certain things he's more proficient than others. Our jobs as coaches is to put kids in the best position we can to make them successful. That's what we will do if J.R. is injured. Generally good teams rally around that type of thing."
Kabba's knee got twisted on a draw play, and his leg got rolled up. It's not known how long he will miss.
"He's a tremendous young man, worked so hard, that's the downside of sports," Gaspari said. "Those things happen."
Staying positive: After leaving St. Charles East, Gaspari - as he always does - headed home with his assistants to watch film until 2 or 3 in the morning.
Then Saturday came early, at 7 a.m., when he talked to his team.
"We told the kids that (Saturday's) film session will be a great learning experience," Gaspari said. "It's a teaching opportunity for us. We move on to West Chicago. I told the kids there hasn't been an undefeated team in the history of Batavia High School so big deal. So it's not going to happen again this year. We still have the world to play for. Opening up at home is pretty special."
Opening night stars: Stars? There were more than you can count on one hand.
Michael Ratay wasted little time going after the school touchdown record he set last year, scoring 5 times and running for 187 yards against Dundee-Crown.
St. Charles North's Jon DeMoss ran for a score and caught a touchdown, but it wasn't quite enough to knock off Cary-Grove.
New quarterbacks at Geneva and St. Charles East both performed well. The Vikings' Brandon Beitzel completed 8 of 10 passes for 134 yards, while the Saints' Tim Russell went 11 of 16 for 142.
Bobby Winkel ran for 128 yards for Marmion. West Aurora quarterback John Nunnally only threw 3 passes, but he ran for 2 scores.
Kaneland sophomore Camiliere made a sterling debut, going 17 for 25 for 228 yards and a couple TD passes in the Knights' 31-7 win over Burlington Central.
St. Charles East's Wes Allen ran for 151 yards and 2 scores in a half, while Batavia's Erich Zeddies caught a pair of touchdowns, and his quarterback Jordan Coffey threw three.
Doesn't get easier: So Batavia is off St. Charles East's schedule.
So you think the Saints might get a break, a little easier way to open the season than battling the Bulldogs.
Not so fast.
Naperville North has replaced Batavia next year. The same Naperville North that won the Class 8A state title last year, and started its season Friday by hammering Neuqua Valley 41-19.
"Why would we ever shy away from a great team?" said Saints coach Ted Monken about the new matchup.
Looking ahead: St. Charles East-Geneva isn't the only game to look forward to this weekend.
In Maple Park, Kaneland makes its home opener against Marmion in a matchup of a pair of 1-0 teams that had convincing Week 1 victories.
The Knights and Cadets won by similar 31-7 and 33-7 scores over Burlington Central and South Elgin, respectively. These games have turned into shootouts several times in recent years, including a 42-38 Marmion win last year.
In other action, Aurora Christian travels to Mendota, St. Charles North heads north to McHenry, Batavia makes its home debut against West Chicago and West Aurora continues its long-standing rivalry with Elgin.