Batavia @ Bath – 7:30 pm – Haverling High School
| BataviasBest.org
Friday, October 17, 2014
Tonight the Batavia Blue Devils head all the way to Bath, NY to take on the Rams in a Clash of the Titans. While each side sits close to the top of their respective Sectional brackets, Batavia will have the chance tonight to hand Bath their first loss of the 2014 season, while also securing their own best record in a decade.
Bath’s Noah Herrington
In order to pull off the miniature upset tonight, the Blue Devils will really have to contend with the Rams’ incredible size up front. Led by 6’4″, 294 pounder Noah Herrington, Bath’s front line will be the best on Batavia’s schedule thus far and is sure to cause problems for the Blue Devils.
Along with Herrington, Bath has other mountains that the Devils must move along the line of scrimmage offensively. While the 300-lb Herrington seems to control the nose tackle position on defense for the Rams, their left defensive end as well as their two middle linebackers also possess great size and strength.
As a result of their incredible dimensions, however, the overall team speed that Bath possesses on D is not exactly setting the world on fire. While they certainly have adequate athleticism on that side of the ball, Batavia’s offense has shown their supreme quickness time and time again this year and will have to do so again this week. While I don’t expect them to find many holes up the gut, I do see running lanes opening up to the outside, where athletes such as Anthony Gallo and Dom Mogavero will have the opportunity to get in space and do damage.
To go with their ability to find space along the outside, I also believe the Blue Devils passing game will play a large role in this one.
In the box, the Rams are perhaps one of the best teams in Section V at stopping the run and stuffing their opponent between the tackles. Despite their strength, though, I truly believe the Rams can be beat in their secondary – especially through the use of play action. If Batavia quarterback Greg Mruczek is able to find WRs Malachi Chenault and Jerrett Laskett with any type of regularity, expect a big day from the Batavia offense including high YAC numbers at the end of it all.
On the other side of the Ball for the Rams, their big-bodied offensive line has been performing well all season long.
Clearing the way for QB Michael Rice, and RBs Bruce Rinker and Patrick Brewer, Bath relies heavily upon a Double-Wing style of offense which is incredibly similar to the one Livonia displayed earlier this season versus the Blue Devils. Along with Rice, Rinker and Brewer who have been the primary runners for the Rams, Rice has also connected with a few of his receivers, primarily #84, for several long passes this season. With the threat of both run and pass this week, Batavia will have to play extremely disciplined football.
A few other miscellaneous items I noted while acquiring information on the Rams concern their offensive tendencies.
From what I gathered, Bath likes to use their tight formation almost exclusively in order to drive down the field with the exception of a few plays where they will change formation and spread you out. Between the 20 yard lines, when they decide to spread it out, they typically choose to go to the air and rely on Rice to make a play with his arms or his legs. However, when they reach the red zone, often when the Rams have spread teams out in short-yardage situations, they have called a dive or a sneak in order to pick up a few easy yards.
To conclude, I believe Bath to be the most worthy opponent on Batavia’s schedule this entire season, perhaps even including the Sectional round. With their supreme size and incredible strength along the front line, and their ability to move the ball on offense, victory will not come easy for Batavia tonight. In order to overcome such a difficult opponent, the Devils will have to display keen awareness for 48 minutes, coupled with tight discipline on both sides of the ball for the duration of the game. If they are to do these two things, I see them walking home with the win. However, when you go up against a good team even one small mistake can completely skew things in the opponent’s favor.
It was a tough choice making this decision, but I have chosen the Blue Devils in this one. Give me the homer pick once again in a moderate-to-low scoring game.
Prediction: Batavia 20 Bath 14
Who do you think will win?
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