Batavia tops WW South on Dennis Piron Day

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke proclaimed Friday as Dennis Piron Day in Batavia, honoring the Bulldogs’ 16-year head football coach who is retiring after this season.

In Piron’s last regular-season game at Bulldog Stadium, Batavia survived a typically dogged effort by Wheaton Warrenville South, winning the DuKane Conference game 27-24.

“Boy, it would have been tough” had Batavia lost, said Piron, who has coached 38 years overall at his alma mater. “We would have wiped that off the calendar forever.

“The kids were happy. I love this group of seniors. I’m happy to be going out with this class, and we’ll try to run this thing as long as we can. That’s the goal now,” Piron said.

Rallying from a 14-0 deficit after the first quarter, WW South (6-3, 5-2) pulled within 20-17 on Drew Maletich’s 33-yard field goal with 7 minutes, 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Batavia (7-2, 6-1) answered when quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren first turned a would-be sack into a 10-yard run, then threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Brennon Zeng.

The 6-foot-3 Northern Illinois University commit leaped over a shorter defender to snatch the ball away near the left pylon.

“I learned whoever jumps first usually wins the jump ball. So I knew, get off the ground before him, odds are I’m going to make the catch,” said Zeng, who caught 6 passes for 76 yards.

Undeterred, WW South quarterback A.J. Rogers converted a third-down pass to Mason Bachara, got an 18-yard completion to Blake Ittersagen on fourth-and-10, and tossed a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Jacob Bellows that had the Tigers within 27-24 with 1:24 to play.

Rogers threw for 293 yards and ran for 51.

WW South got the ball back with 16 seconds to play but couldn’t pull off a miracle hook-and-ladder as time expired.

“I’m really proud of the way they battled throughout the ebbs and flows of this game,” said Tigers coach Sean Norris.

“They never quit, they never, ever quit, and they kept battling, and there’s a lot to be said for that,” he said.

No. 7 in this week’s Associated Press poll, Batavia went up 14-0 on No. 10 WW South on short touchdown runs by Charlie Rosengren and Vander Luitgaren.

The Tigers turned the tables with 14 points in 21 seconds. Blake Ittersagen scored on a 16-yard catch, then Eric Hecker recovered Isamu Major’s squib kickoff at Batavia’s 16-yard line.

Two plays later Trent Simpson spun eight yards into the end zone, and Maletich’s kick tied the score at 10:06 of the second quarter.

Batavia led 20-14 at halftime on a 13-yard pass between University of Wyoming recruits, Vander Luitgaren to tight end Thomas Prescott.

“That win against a tough team definitely shows this team can fight, and it’s a good momentum shifter for the playoffs,” said Vander Luitgaren, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 234 yards and ran for 52 more.

And a nice win on Dennis Piron Day.

“It means a lot, knowing how much he’s poured into the program for so many years,” said Rosengren, who led Batavia with 60 yards rushing.

“Just being able to come out one last time in the regular season and get him the win that he deserves, honestly it’s great, because we love him as a coach.”