Loukas Vatianou, a senior safety whose teammates call him ‘The General,’ takes charge on defense for Batavia

Senior safety Loukas Vatianou is the latest in a long line of football players for Batavia who have taken similar paths to success during their last year in high school.

Not the biggest guy in the world, having to wait his turn before showing what he can do and then becoming one of the team’s top players has been the way for many former Bulldogs.

That’s exactly how Vatianou has gotten to this point.

“I’m a smaller dude, so getting in the weight room really helps, speed training, all that stuff,” Vatianou said. “Our coaches really emphasize learning the game, understanding what the other team is trying to do, and that’s really been a big help mentally for me to make the jump.”

Vatianou has made the leap from being a seldom-used nickelback as a junior to developing into Batavia’s second-leading tackler as the Bulldogs (8-2) head into a Class 7A second-round game at 4 p.m. Saturday against host Brother Rice (8-2) in Chicago.

The 5-foot-6, 140-pound Vatianou has 72 tackles, 59 solo, to go with two tackles for loss and an interception. He had only 11 tackles, with nine solo, as a junior.

His hard work has paid off.

“He’s definitely that kind of guy,” Batavia defensive coordinator Matt Holm said. “He saw quite a bit of playing time early last season and then kind of just faded away. Not that he did anything wrong.

“It just didn’t quite fit with our scheme when we got into conference.”

Vatianou got down to business in the offseason transforming his body and becoming a leader. The result is being a take-charge player Holm can trust to be sort of a coach on the field.

“The guys call him ‘The General,’” Holm said. “He doesn’t want to be called that. I told him, when the guys give you a compliment like that, you have to take it.

“His communication is excellent. He knows every position. He knows where they’re supposed to be. His calls are really good.”

Aside from grinding away and film study, Batavia coach Dennis Piron is also impressed with one of the most basic parts Vatianou brings to the game.

“He loves to play and he loves his buddies,” Piron said. “He flies around. It’s awesome when you play with passion. We’ve had a lot of kids that weren’t 6-foot-3, 230 pounds be leading tacklers and impactful players. He’s one of those kids that’s special.”

Holm pointed out that while Vatianou has been a mainstay, much of the rest of the defense was in flux in the middle of the season.

That was highlighted by single-digit wins over Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South and by surrendering 56 points to archrival Geneva in a 56-49 loss.

“I’ve never had a season where we were so decimated with injuries early on and guys playing out of position and doing different things,” Holm said. “We’ve been getting people back.

“That showed on Friday. It felt like we were the old Bulldogs again.”

Vatianou agreed that Friday’s 39-10 win over Lincoln-Way Central may have signaled the Bulldogs turning the corner defensively.

“I think we’re coming along,” Vatianou said. “That last game, 10 points, we made a mistake and could have been better, but we’re ready to go. We have to play a whole game against these guys.”

Led by freshman quarterback Sam Holcomb, Brother Rice is coming off its first state championship since 1981 and is again one of the top teams in Illinois.

“We’re excited about going to play them,” Piron said. “We have a plan and I think we’ll be ready to go. I haven’t coached anybody here that didn’t look forward to challenges like this.

“We’re not going to be intimidated or worried.”

Vatianou, meanwhile, also welcomes the challenge.

“We’re ready to compete,” Vatianou said. “We know they have playmakers, but we have a good game plan. We have playmakers, too.”