Batavia bounces back in big way with 47-21 win over Lake Park
That's more like it.
Fresh off a heartbreaking loss to Class 8A power Lincoln-Way East, Batavia bounced back in a big way Friday night at Lake Park, putting on a dominant show in the first half en route to a 47-21 DuKane Conference win over the Lancers.
Quarterback Ryan Boe passed for 3 scores and 253 yards in one half of action as the Bulldogs (2-1) blasted the Lancers (2-1) through two quarters of play. Boe and most of his fellow first teamers were given the second half off after taking charge of the contest through two quarters on Friday.
"Everything was really clicking which was nice to see after the amount of work we put in after last week," said Boe, who completed 15 of 20 passes and connected with seven different receivers. "It's really great to have so many weapons and we all worked together so much over the summer to prepare for this."
The Bulldogs capped their first drive of the night with the first of two rushing scores from Charlie Whelpley, a 21-yard scamper into the end zone with 9:47 left in the opening quarter. After the Batavia defense forced a three-and-out, Boe fired a 36-yard touchdown strike to Luke Alwin on the first play of the drive and it was 14-0 just over four minutes into the game.
The lead was 21-0 following a 6-yard Nathan Whitwell touchdown run. Whitwell led the Bulldogs on the ground Friday with 96 yards on 17 carries including a pair of touchdowns. Whelpley finished with 53 yards and 2 scores on just 8 rushes.
To Lake Park's credit, they kept doing their best to try and answer the Bulldogs' scores. Speedy tailback Declan Fortuna busted off a 73-yard touchdown run to end the first quarter with the Bulldogs ahead 21-7. Fortuna finished the night with 113 yards on just 12 carries.
But Boe had one more big quarter in him on this night and led his team to 3 more scores and a 41-7 lead at the half. In the second quarter he connected with Jacob Jansey and then hit Alwin in the end zone a second time before ending his big night early.
"We subbed a lot and it got a little sloppy in the second half, but I thought our first team offense was outstanding. It's not just one guy. We've got lots of receivers and good backs and a great tight end," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "And our defense was flying all over the field."
The Lancers scored a special teams touchdown for the third straight week after Nate DelaRosa blocked a punt and Jimmy Celli jumped on the ball in the Bulldogs end zone. Lake Park added a late score on a leaping grab by Nikos Menos on a 22-yard pass from George Tzamouranis.
"They're definitely one of the best teams in the state but I'm super proud of our effort," Lake Park coach Chris Kirkpatrick said. "We're learning how to prepare to play like champions."