Devils’ defense stifling in victory
(Photo credit: www.jimburns.org)
| Monday, October 29, 2018 | BataviasBest.org
Falling in the semifinal round a year ago, the #1 Batavia Blue Devils are headed back to the Section V Class B Final after a 29-0 shutout victory over #4 Honeoye Falls-Lima this past Saturday evening at Pittsford Sutherland High School. The Devils’ defense put forth their best effort of the year in their biggest game of the year, and proved that Batavia isn’t only an offensive juggernaut, but a defensively-sound team as well.
(Photo credit: www.jimburns.org)
“We’ve got a tough group of kids (on defense),” said Blue Devils’ HC Brennan Briggs after the win. “We always talk about playing relentless football and our guys did tonight. HF-L had a big offensive line, but our kids are tough. They’re not going to back down to anybody.”
Batavia LB Josh Barber has been the leader of the defense throughout the season, and put forth another strong performance against the Cougars – and finishing with 15 tackles. LB Alex Rood has also been a bright spot for this team this season, and he finished with 10 tackles on Saturday. DL Camden White has kind of been an unsung hero for the Blue Devils, and came away with 2 sacks in his team’s Class B Semifinal victory.
In addition to Barber, Rood, and White, who did much of the grunt work on the evening, DB Taiyo Iburi-Bethel, and FS Ethan Biscaro each recorded an interception, with Iburi-Bethel’s being returned for a touchdown.
🏈 CLASS B SEMI FINALS | #1 Batavia vs #4 Honeoye Falls Lima – @SectionVFb
°Batavia 7 HFL 0 | 5:03 2Q
°Biscaro adds to his collection of picks this season with an INT of HFL’s Turner Wilson@BHSScores #Football #SectionV pic.twitter.com/f5bnDutEWt
— Batavia’s Best HS () October 27, 2018
“We just work hard on defense everyday in practice,” said Batavia RB/LB Ray Leach following the win. “We have a lot of tough people out here and we don’t like getting scored on. When it comes to that time we lock-up.”
The Blue Devils’ offense also had a big day despite a slow start in the first half.
Leach led the way once again, carrying the ball 18 times for 179 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown. In addition to the Batavia RB, QB Biscaro also came through for his team with 2 passing touchdowns to go with his interception on defense. Those passing scores were caught by Iburi-Bethel, and Rood.
🏈 CLASS B SEMI FINALS | #1 Batavia vs #4 Honeoye Falls Lima – @SectionVFb
°Batavia 7 HFL 0 | 6:34 1Q
°Ethan Biscaro with a bullet to Taiyo Iburi-Bethel, Blue Devils strike first in this one@BHSScores #Football #SectionV pic.twitter.com/ZeF5tGT5OH
— Batavia’s Best HS () October 27, 2018
“We just got back to the basics of playing Batavia football (during the second half),” said Biscaro after the game.
Moving forward Batavia will look ahead to a matchup with #3 Wayne in the Class B Final, as the Eagles upset #2 Livonia 24-21 after being down 21-0 in the first half.
“We just need to keep working on our fundamentals,” said coach Briggs to conclude his comments after the game. “We just need to watch film and make sure we understand everything the opponent is trying to do.”
That won’t be as easy as it sounds for the Blue Devils, as Wayne is a highly-skilled offensive team. I’m expecting them to put up a fight vs Batavia this weekend.
