Batavia's special effort too much for Elgin

The Batavia football team made sure Elgin's special teams were not going to be the difference Friday night.

The Bulldogs kicked off to up men and Ben Allison averaged nearly 36 yards a punt, keeping the ball out of Jordan Dean's hands.

The plan was nearly executed to perfection as Batavia shut down the Maroons' offense en route to a 28-7 Upstate Eight Conference River Division matchup at Memorial Field.

“Our special teams game plan was outstanding. The kids executed those things flawlessly, Bulldogs coach Mike Gaspari said. “We were very concerned about their kick returns. Not only with what they did last week, that won a football game for them, but throughout the season.

Elgin (4-3, 3-2) scored on a punt return and two kickoff returns in last week's 26-19 victory over St. Charles North.

Batavia (4-3, 3-1) wanted to make sure that the offense had to be Elgin's source of points. The Maroons could not get much going offensively. They had 252 yards of offense, 64 on Dennis Moore's 64-yard touchdown run with 8:24 remaining in the third quarter and 57 on their final drive with the Bulldogs holding a 21-point lead.

The Maroons had to start 10 drives at or inside their own 32-yard line, including four inside their own 20.

“Batavia did a nice job defensively, but I think a lot of it was our not executing things, Elgin coach Dave Bierman said. “We have open people, some times we don't make the reception, some times we overthrow the receiver that's open.

Batavia took a 7-0 lead with 4:00 left in the first half as Alec Lyons capped a 12-play, 64-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run up the middle.

The Bulldogs increased the lead to 14-0 on their first drive of the second half. Noel Gaspari hit David Peskind for a 2-yard touchdown pass with 8:36 remaining in the third quarter.

Moore scored on the Maroons' first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kickoff to get within 14-7. The Maroons then forced the Bulldogs into a three-and-out. But Allison booted a 59-yard punt to the Elgin 16 to change field position. The Maroons went three-and-out and Batavia started its next drive at the Maroons' 30.

Noel Gaspari, who was 15 for 21 passing for 134 yards, connected with Ben Fornek for a 4-yard score and a 21-7 lead with 4:19 left in the third.

“Our passing game was great tonight, Noel Gaspari said. “That has been pretty good the whole year. We just have to get the run game going a little better.

Noel Gaspari added an 8-yard touchdown run with 8:44 remaining.

Moore rushed for 105 yards on 13 carries for Elgin. Quarterback Lee Jackson completed just 8 of 32 passes for 95 yards. Jake Meyer, who was the starting quarterback to open the season, went 2 for 7 for 40 yards and rushed for on Elgin's final drive of the game.

The Bulldogs need one win in their final two games at home against St. Charles North (3-4) and at Streamwood (2-5) to become playoff eligible, but may need to win both games with having 26 playoff points entering Friday.

“You never know at 5-4, coach Gaspari said. “But to get 6 wins you have to get 5, so this game was instrumental for us.

Elgin will mostly likely need to finish 6-3 to make the postseason, which means wins at St. Charles East (2-5) and at home against Metea Valley (1-6). The Maroons only had 18 playoff points entering Friday.

“Our backs are against the wall. We've got to win the next two, Bierman said. “We just have to see how they respond and how they come back on Monday.