St. Rita uses huge momentum shift in third quarter to take down Batavia and return to Class 7A title game

Jack Schapendonk knew he had to do everything he could to keep the ball out of the end zone.

With St. Rita holding an 11-point lead with time winding down in the end of the first half, the sophomore and the defense were facing a tall task of keeping Batavia out of the end zone.

The problem? The Bulldogs had it inches away from the goal line and two attempts to try and punch it in.

St. Rita’s solution? Just make the stops.

“We just came together as a team and knew that if we kept them out, we’d get the momentum,” Schapendonk said. “We could just take over from there.”

The No. 25 Mustangs did just that, holding the No. 13 Bulldogs out of the end zone on two straight plays for a turnover on downs to end the half before coming out and scoring 26 consecutive points in the third quarter to fully pull away and take a 54-34 victory to advance to the Class 7A state finals.

“That momentum change was such a huge one for us,” Mustangs coach Brian Hopkins said. “Our offense has been doing its job over the last few weeks and the defense just did its job down there. Biggest thing we harp on them is they can get down there, just don’t let them in.

“I’m proud of our guys for believing in each other, going out there and getting the reward that they deserve.”

After coming out of the locker room up 21-10, the Mustangs wasted no time in pounding the ball into the end zone especially with the run. Senior quarterback Steven Armbruster ran and threw for a touchdown during the 26-point streak that put the Mustangs up 47-10 heading into the final frame.

Also scoring during that streak was senior running back Brandon Johnson (16 carries for 91 yards) and junior Damon Sutton Jr. (four carries for 52 yards, two touchdowns).

“We talk about having momentum a lot,” said Armbruster, who finished the game with five total touchdowns. “When the momentum swings our way, we try to take advantage and hold on to it as long as we can.”

It was a stark contrast from the first half, where the Mustangs relied on their passing game to get them ahead. Armbruster threw three touchdowns in the opening half, finding senior Walter Jones (five catches for 111 yards) in the end zone twice and senior Donovan Evans (seven catches for 79 yards) on a 49-yard score.

“He was banged up for us early in the season but he’s really starting to hit his stride,” Hopkins said. “The run game has helped that out tremendously. We had them biting trying to get as many guys on Johnson and we just took advantage of putting the ball over the top.”

The Bulldogs tried to flip the momentum early in the second half, going with an onside kick on the opening kickoff to going for it on fourth down deep in their own territory multiple times in the third quarter.

But each time, it went the exact opposite way that coach Dennis Piron hoped it would.

“I think the kids did a great job, we just couldn’t (stop) their scoring,” Piron said. “I took some risks, and we had some things that we needed to have work and we didn’t have any of those plays work.”

Despite the deficit in the fourth quarter, Batavia (10-3) never shied away on offense in the second half, especially in the third quarter. The Bulldogs had each of their final final three scores come in the fourth quarter, converting on every two-point conversion as well.

“Whenever in the playoffs, when you know it could be your last game, you’ve just got to fight to the end,” said senior Brett Berggren, who finished the game with eight receptions for 154 yards and a touchdown. “We just have a culture where you fight no matter what happens. I knew I had to leave everything out on the field and have no regrets.”

Junior quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren finished the game 23-of-43 passing for 293 yards and touchdown passes to Berggren and junior Darin Ashiru (5 receptions for 48 yards). Ashiru also threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to junior Brennon Zeng (seven catches for 47 yards) in the fourth quarter.

Senior running back Henry Hahn (10 rushes for 79 yards) accounted for the only touchdown for the Bulldogs in the first half with a nine-yard score.

“I like that we always continued to fight and gave it the best right to the very end,” Piron said. “We’re proud of the fact that we’re getting here. Every once in a while, we just have to figure it out.”

The Bulldogs will have plenty of weapons returning next season both on offense and defense. But for guys like Berggren, it marks an end to a high school career where the Bulldogs made it to the semifinals in four straight seasons.

“It’s just been a blessing, Batavia football is just different,” Berggren said. “We’ve always been right there for a state title. Getting moved up sophomore year was the biggest thing for me. And then slowly my coaches believed in me every single week. I thank my coaches and my buddies for just keeping me up.”

St. Rita, meanwhile, will go to its first state title game since 2021, where it’ll face No. 6 Brother Rice (12-1), who beat Downers Grove North 45-17 in their semifinal. It’ll be a rematch from Week 4 of the season, where the Crusaders won 28-10.

“We knew when we were 2-4 that we were still a good team, we just weren’t playing our best ball and we were going to fly under the radar for a bit,” Armbruster said. “Now we’re one team, we stick together. We’re brothers and we’ve got to get ready for next week.”