Batavia secures ‘bucket list win’ in high-scoring game against Maine South
Batavia coach Dennis Piron has put his program among the upper echelon in Illinois in the past couple decades.
He’s not one to shy away from a challenge, even from Class 8A powerhouse Maine South, which he welcomed to Batavia for Friday’s season opener.
“We had high expectations coming into this season,” Piron said. “We know how it’s going to work. We knew what they had to offer. They had a couple dudes that are just nightmares to deal with on defense.”
The Bulldogs passed the early test, however, pulling away in the second half for a 49-35 win.
Batavia senior quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren played the leading role. The Wyoming recruit went 27-for-33 passing for 429 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulldogs (1-0).
His top target was Western Michigan recruit Darin Ashiru, who caught 10 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Northern Illinois recruit Brendon Zeng had six catches for 75 yards and two other scores.
Indiana recruit Jameson Purcell started off slowly for Maine South (0-1) but went toe-to-toe with Vander Luitgaren in the second half. He finished 20-for-40 passing for 187 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Payton Donaldson ran for 110 yards and a TD, and Matt Schlenhardt added 104 yards and two scores.
Many fans across the state were looking forward to the quarterback battle between Purcell and Vander Luitgaren coming into the game. Piron took the game as an opportunity to stump for his guy.
“Michael is a special human being,” Piron said. “The consummate teammate, the guys love him. Good start to the season.”
Maine South broke through first on a 1-yard TD run from Schlenhardt. Vander Luitgaren answered with a 57-yard TD pass to Zeng and a 43-yard TD pass to Ashiru sandwiched around a 62-yard TD run from Donaldson from the Hawks, making it 14-14.
Vander Luitgaren and Ashiru hooked up again, a 28-yard TD pass, but Schlenhardt answered with a 66-yard TD run.
Batavia pulled away from there. A 6-yard TD run from Liam Moran gave the Bulldogs a 28-21 lead at the half. After a Maine South interception to start the third, Vander Luitgaren hit Prescott for a 15-yard TD and Batavia never trailed again.
Maine South coach Dave Inserra lamented the missed opportunities that allowed Batavia to pull away against the Hawks’ young defense.
“Obviously, they have a really great offense, but ours wasn’t too bad either,” Inserra said. “We ran the ball really well. There were a few drops that we can’t have, but that’s a state championship quality team. We have nothing to be ashamed of. I’d take this loss over playing a weak team and getting a win.”
Batavia isn’t a program that ducks good competition, but this was one that Piron was happy to finally set up.
“We want to play tough teams,” Piron said. “That was a bucket list win for me. Thanks to coach Inserra for making this happen. We knew it would be this type of game.
“I’m just so proud of our kids. It was a war of attrition. This is a really good group of boys that play their butts off. I just love to watch them play.”
After a big win like that, Vander Luitgaren served notice that he’s one of the top quarterbacks in the state. The Bulldogs also showed that they have their eyes set on a state title.
“We’re coming,” Ashiru said. “We’re back. We’re even better than what we are on paper. I think we proved that to everybody.”