Scouting Batavia at St. Charles East

Batavia (2-2, 1-0) at St. Charles East (0-4, 0-2)

Game time: 7:30 p.m. today

Last year: Did not play.

Last week: Bartlett 40, Batavia 22; Larkin 16, St. Charles East 14.

Outlook: Rest assured, in this first Upstate Eight Conference River division matchup against the Saints, Batavia coach Mike Gaspari has spoken to his boys about St. Charles East beating the Bulldogs in the 2007 and 2008 season openers. Gaspari also addressed the fact that Bartlett outscored his squad 19-0 in the second quarter last week, pouncing on a fumble and grabbing an interception. "We actually played well," he said, "but in the second quarter there were breakdowns in the secondary that allowed a couple big pass plays." While Batavia cornerbacks Ben Fornek and Jon Gray will batten down the sideline-to-sideline offense of St. Charles East, the Bulldogs' offense will try to continue its improved ground game. Emund Kabba ran for 96 yards last week with touchdown runs of 16 and 36 yards, and versatile junior Alex Lyons (6-3, 235) ran 9 times for 56 yards. "We're going to have to move the football, get first downs and put points on the board," Gaspari said. His quarterback son, Noel, may have to come to the fore, because last week Larkin managed just 40 yards rushing on 36 carries against St. Charles East. The difference? Larkin's Trevor Whitehead caught 9 passes for 127 yards and kicked the decisive field goal. St. Charles East coach Mike Fields called it a case of "lost focus" after two nice games. This week's focus will be to establish the ground game in the teeth of eight defenders in the box, which the Saints have been seeing, and also stopping the pass. Tailback Mike Brown continues to be a great story; he ran for 69 yards and a touchdown last week and lends sprinter speed to go along with Zach Zajicek. The Saints return defensive back Ryan Shaffrey to the secondary, but tight end Andrew Carrano is questionable with a wrist injury. Worse news is that junior quarterback and team co-captain Charlie Fisher's groin injury, sustained Week 2 against Naperville North, is a tear and not just a pull; he is probably out for the season (as is backup Dean Bowen with a broken arm). So Fields will stick with Zajicek splitting time behind center with fellow converted receiver, third-string quarterback Jake Mazanke. "We'll go to battle with Jake," Fields said. "I'll go into a fight with Jake any time."

Next week: Geneva (2-2, 2-0) at Batavia, Oct. 1; Streamwood (1-3, 0-2) at St. Charles East, Oct. 1.