Fun's just beginning
Halloween is fast approaching.
That news flash brought to you in case you don't have a 4-year-old who changes his mind every day about who he wants to be for Halloween, or in case you missed the Batavia band's lively rendition of Thriller at halftime Friday night.
But I'm not sure there is any witch, ghost, ghoul, haunted house... anything Halloween brings that could be scarier than an opposing defense seeing Batavia senior J.R. Kabba in the open field.
Now you see him. Now you don't. Wait, there he is again, way at the other end of the field, flipping the ball to the official after another touchdown.
Kabba ran for a school-record 321 yards in Batavia's 47-22 win over Sycamore, breaking not one, not two but three 70-plus yard touchdown runs.
You can take Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard or David Ortiz. There' no better home run threat playing in October than J.R. Kabba,
"It's a night to remember for that kid," Batavia quarterback Jordan Coffey said. "He's got a gift from God."
Actually, there might be one thing scarier, and that is seeing Kabba lying on the field and not getting up, which happened early in the fourth quarter on his 20th and final carry of the night. If it didn't, he might have hit 400 yards.
Kabba hit his head on the ground and was held out for "precautionary reasons," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said, who is proud of the way his team has turned it around after a 1-2 start.
"I'd rather start slow and get better than the reverse," Gaspari said. "I'm just very proud of how hard these kids have continued to work. You start out 1-2 there's a lot of teams in Illinois at this level that put it in the tank after that. It's a credit to these guys they kept battling."
Coffey went over to sit with Kabba on the Batavia bench after Kabba came out.
"I was just trying to help him out," Coffey said. "He couldn't remember anything. He'll see tape of this game and eventually remember stuff."
Both Coffey and Gaspari praised the work of the Batavia offensive line opening the holes.
"That (300 yards) is an unusual occurrence at any level," Gaspari said. "Great job by our offensive line tonight."
It's safe to say 2008 is shaping up as the Year of the Running Back in the Tri-Cities, with Michael Ratay and Wes Allen scoring touchdowns like it's a video game, which sometimes leaves other standouts like Kabba or St. Charles North's Jordan Huxtable out of the limelight.
But more nights like Friday, especially if he can do it in Week 9 against Geneva and in the playoffs, and everyone will be talking about Kabba.
Because the fun really begins now.
Kabba's career night was just the start of what promises to be a thrilling end to the regular season. St. Charles East at St. Charles North is a week away, and Batavia vs. Geneva is two weeks. The two best weeks of every fall around here, back-to-back, with the playoffs to follow.
Last year certainly lived up to the hype with a pair of 2-point nail-biters. St. Charles North held off a late 2-point conversion to upset St. Charles East 28-26, then extra points proved to be the difference in Geneva's 14-12 win over Batavia.
Batavia ran its winning streak to four games Friday night, and looked good doing it.
Before we get the 91st meeting between Geneva-Batavia comes the 8th St. Charles cross-town classic. What it lacks in longevity certainly makes up for in interesting storylines, with kids who grew up going to the same junior high now squaring off on rival high school teams.
The North Stars' win last year snapped the Saints' three-game winning streak and evened the all-time series at 4-4. North Stars and Saints fans can go to this link to vote for their game to get even extra coverage next week: media.myfoxchicago.com/foxjox/voting.html. And while any extra publicity is great, seeing your team on TV or the Internet or anything else, as all of us know nothing beats seeing it in person.
Because you just never know what you'll see, like a Batavia team coming on strong with four straight wins. Or a 321-yard rushing night
"The kid is unbelievable," Coffey said.
jlemon@dailyherald.com