ONIONS: Batavia wins Class B Title behind gutsy call

Blue Devils go for late 2-pt conversion, drop Livonia in Section V Title game

| BataviasBest.org
Sunday, November 9, 2014

Rarely mentioned and often forgotten about since the days of John Kreydt, Batavia Football has been an afterthought throughout Section V circles for over two decades. Following countless futile seasons, along with several disappointments throughout that time, some believed things would never turn themselves around for this program. That all changed yesterday evening.

Behind by 7 with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter against Livonia on Saturday, the Blue Devils pulled off one of the most exciting fourth-quarter comebacks I have ever witnessed, as they used a 70-yard touchdown pass on a second down play from their own 30-yard line in order to win the Class B Title – their first since 1991.

“The kids are resilient,” said head coach Brennan Briggs following the win. “All of their offseason work and hard work paid off.”

“I’m proud of everyone,” added Batavia QB Greg Mruczek while on the bus ride home behind a convoy of law enforcement. “We showed a lot of guts and pride. I love everyone on this team.”

A back-and-forth game throughout, Livonia-Batavia II turned out to be what I believe is one of the best Section V Title games in recent memory.

The game began with Livonia winning the toss and choosing to receive. Following a nice kick and solid coverage the Bulldogs began the first drive of the game from their own 30-yard line and to open the possession, Livonia immediately began to move the ball.

Gaining first down yardage on a third down and two play, it seemed as if they were off to another nice start against Batavia, as they had been in the first matchup between the two teams during Week 1. The Bulldogs started the game mixing it up in the backfield and used several runners during their first drive, but their committee approach would not last long and eventually they would almost exclusively use their top-back Josh Henderson.

After the conversion on third down and short, the rhythm that Livonia had begun with on offense quickly faded. Following a nice play by the Batavia defense on third down, the Bulldogs were forced to punt the ball away and gave possession to the Devils at their own 39 with great position on their first drive with 8:51 left in the first quarter.

Opening much like the Livonia offense, Batavia’s attack would gain an almost immediate first down. A nice screen pass to Anthony Gallo along the left side would gain them ten yards right off the jump and they were in business as they were approaching midfield. Following another carry for Gallo which went for about four yards, a huge play from Dom Mogavero would open things up for the Blue Devils’ offense, as a solid run to the right side moved the ball all the way past midfield and into the red zone, and just like that, Batavia was threatening to take an early lead.

Despite the promising start to the drive, however, the Devils’ early momentum would quickly stall out and they would turn it over on downs deep inside Livonia territory. The failure to convert the good field position into points was a killer for Batavia, but their defense would soon step up and erase the missed chance.

Forcing a punt from the Bulldogs after a quick three and out, the Blue Devils would once again take the ball at about midfield looking for the go-ahead score with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.

In contrast to their first possession, though, Batavia would not find the same rhythm on their second drive, and following a holding call on a third and ten play which went for no gain, they would be set back to a third and twenty. However, had the holding call not been called and accepted by Livonia (confusingly), the Devils’ offense wouldn’t have had a chance to pull of their first miracle of the game.

On the third and twenty from well behind midfield, Mruczek dialed up a strong 22-yard lazer to the left hash, which found his receiver for the long first down. The incredible throw and catch moved the ball all the way to Livonia’s 40-yard line, and once again the Blue Devils were set up with a great chance.

Following the huge play, I was wondering why Livonia accepted the holding penalty.

Although I understand they were probably thinking of the field position battle at that point, it is still extremely confusing to me why they wouldn’t just allow the Devils to kick it away. Either way, the decision would not prove costly for the Bulldogs, as Batavia again sputtered offensively and punted the ball away. A good punt found its way into the end zone and the Livonia offense trotted onto the field for its third possession of the game with a drive start at their own 20 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

During the next two minutes the Bulldogs would continue to ground and pound without finding much success, and for the third straight time, a punt would punctuate a short drive. With the kick came the end of the first quarter and Batavia would begin the second frame starting at their own 40.

That is when all hell broke loose.

Dialing up a deep ball to open things up on their third drive of the game, Mruczek would find rarely-utilized wide receiver Trevor Sherwood wide open down the left sideline. Stumbling as the ball approached, Sherwood would regain his balance just in time in order to make a stumbling catch and take it all the way to the house for the game’s first score.

Sherwood, who stands anywhere from 6’4″-6’6″ in my estimation, had been primarily used as a blocker on the outside throughout much of the season, but as the year has progressed and Batavia has transitioned to a more consistent spread-approach, the big WR has found himself rising quickly in their 4-5 WR sets.

Following a successful PAT after the long touchdown, Batavia was ahead 7-0 with 11:13 to go in the first half, and the Bulldogs sideline had been silenced. The ensuing kickoff would go out of bounds off the side of the foot of the Blue Devils’ kicker and Livonia would have a promising drive start at their own 35-yard line.

Despite the great field position, however, Livonia continued to produce nothing offensively. Held to negative yardage on three plays on their fourth possession, the Bulldogs would punt for the fourth time, and a nice kick off the foot of the punter traveled all the way down to Batavia’s 30-yard line where the Blue Devils would set up shop with 9:05 remaining in the first half.

Just as they had done on the previous scoring drive, Batavia would again show shades of the Bruce Arians-run offense in Arizona, and called for yet another big pass play – this time to Jerrett Laskett.

A 35-yard throw and catch from Mruczek to Laskett set the Devils up just outside the red zone approaching another score with 8:12 to go in the first half. Following the big play, Mruczek would find another one of his receivers, and this time Ryan Hogan would take the reception for nearly 20 yards all the way down inside the red zone. However, what happened next would kill Batavia’s chances.

Two straight penalties, a delay of game followed by a block in the back, moved the Devils back outside of the red zone and put them up against a first and twenty five. It was a killer series of events for Batavia, who seemed sure to take a two-score lead, but instead were faced with an uphill battle to the end zone.

Unable to make up for the two big errors, Batavia came up short of reaching pay dirt and turned the ball over on downs to Livonia.

As the Bulldogs took over near midfield they would finally hit somewhat of a stride on offense.

Using several strong runs from Henderson, Livonia advanced the ball all the way inside the Batavia zone and seemed primed to tie the score. However, electing to pass in the midst of such a strong series of runs, the Bulldogs suddenly turned the ball over as Gallo came up with a big interception on a tipped ball.

Returning the pick a long way, Gallo was eventually called back due to a block in the back penalty, but the damage had been done and the Blue Devils had ended what had previously looked like a promising drive for the Bulldogs. With time winding down in the second quarter, Batavia would elect to run the ball in order to take all the time off of the clock and the two teams went into the half with the score 7-0 in favor of the Blue Devils.

During the first half of play the Bulldogs had looked anemic on offense. Gaining a total of just 81 yards (1 yard passing), the Batavia defense had completely shut them down outside of the short-lived drive late in the second quarter, and were out-gaining them offensively by 118 yards. All in all, it was Mruczek leading the Devils to the early advantage, as the Junior QB finished the half with 179 yards passing and the lone touchdown to Sherwood.

To open the second half Batavia would receive looking to extend their lead.

Starting things off in the third quarter at their own 16 yard line, the Blue Devils would go run-heavy to open the drive. Using several successful totes, the big one a 24-yard gain from Mruczek, Batavia advanced the ball all the way to their 40-yard line looking to cross midfield with a chance of extending their lead. However, after the strong start, on a fourth and one play from about midfield the Devils would again call for the run, this time a QB sneak up the middle, but they would fail to cross the line to gain and turned the ball over on downs to the Bulldogs who needed just a short drive to tie the score.

As they had done all game long, Livonia continued to pound the rock.

Working the ball all the way down inside the five yard line of Batavia, the Bulldogs would cap off the drive with a short 3-yard run right up the heart of the Blue Devils’ front and into the end zone for the game-tying score. Following a successful PAT the game had been tied 7-7 and the Blue Devils had suddenly found themselves in a dog fight. Livonia really hammered the left side of the Batavia defense during their first scoring drive, as they had done for much of the game, leaving the Devils scrambling for answers as they awaited the kickoff.

Taking over at their own 25 Batavia would be unable to mount anything offensively, and with the momentum swinging the way of the Bulldogs, the Devils were forced to punt the ball and turned to their defense looking for a big stop.

With 5:29 left in the third quarter Livonia had the ball around midfield in a 7-7 ballgame, but would eventually turn the ball back over to Batavia.

As the third quarter came to an end, the score remained 7-7, and quickly into the final frame Batavia was forced to punt.

Taking over at their own 49-yard line Livonia was again given great position to start their drive. Again they were able to move the ball on the ground deep inside Batavia territory, however, as they were forced to try a field goal on fourth down, Batavia stepped up and blocked the try which gave their offense the ball back.

Unable to convert on the big momentum swing, though, the Devils again stalled offensively and returned the ball to Livonia on a sack fumble of Mruczek. As the Bulldogs took over at midfield with 5:15 left in the game, things suddenly looked bleak for Batavia.

As their fans began to chant “Who Let the Dogs Out”, I found myself wondering if the Devils could ever recover.

To add insult to the injury already caused by the Baha Men faithful, Livonia was able to matriculate the football all the way inside the Batavia red zone. A few plays after reaching the scoring area, the Bulldogs would again call the number of trusty Josh Henderson, who for what seemed like the 30th time attacked the left side of the Batavia defense for a 20-yard touchdown to put his team ahead. Following a successful PAT, the score was now 14-7 in favor of Livonia, who had taken their first lead of the game with 2:28 left in the game.

That is when all hell broke loose.

Again.

Beginning their drive at their own 30-yard line, the Blue Devils were looking to go 70-yards for the game-tying score, and opened the possession by airing it out. Throwing incomplete on first down, Mruczek would again dial it up on second down, this time finding his receiver for what turned out to be the game’s biggest play.

Throwing into coverage deep down the left sideline, the Batavia QB stepped up and chucked a tight, looping spiral that traveled about 40-yards through the air, and dropped right into the hands of Hogan who made a juggling catch and ran the rest of the way for the score. The touchdown was the longest of the day for either side and had brought Batavia within one point of tying the game.

That is where the onions came into play.

Deciding to bypass a chance at a tie, Batavia head coach Brennan Briggs made what I believed to be the decision he had to make – yet a ballsy one nonetheless.

Choosing to do something not many HS coaches have the guts to do, Briggs called for the two-point conversion.

As the Devils lined up for the conversion attempt, Livonia was giving them a soft look as if they were expecting Batavia to throw the ball over the middle as they have done on a few two-point tries this season. Instead, however, Briggs had called a quarterback draw for Mruczek, who took the designed run the needed distance and into the end zone for the go-ahead score. The game was suddenly 15-14 in favor of Batavia, who had taken a 30-second possession a total of 70 yards for the lead.

As the Devils were able to pull themselves together after the incredible excitement following the conversion, they looked to their defense to close things out. Livonia had struggled to throw the ball all day and it seemed as if all Batavia would have to do is sure up their left side in order to stop Henderson from going 70-yards by himself.

Starting the drive at their own 30-yard line, the Bulldogs showed promise at the start of their possession, working the ball all the way past midfield. However, unfortunately for them, they did so by running the football and the clock began to work against them.

With under 30-seconds remaining, and Livonia faced with a fourth down and long, they finally called for a pass, which was broken up – giving Batavia the championship.

“Best feeling in the world,” said Anthony Gallo about watching the final seconds tick off the clock following a kneel down from the Batavia offense. “I love these guys. I’m proud of all of them. People said we couldn’t do it and we did.”

“So many people doubted us,” continued Junior Adonis Davis. “We just turned heads and proved them wrong.”

Walking away with the MVP in yesterday’s game was Mruczek, who felt it was much more than just his effort contributing to his team’s victory.

“It feels great (to win MVP),” he said, “But I couldn’t have done it without the guys. I love my teammates. We showed a lot of guts and pride and never gave up.”

All that being said, perhaps WR Trevor Sherwood phrased it best.

“Hard work paid off.”

Congratulations to the Blue Devils on their first Sectional Title in 23 years.

: On Sunday, in contrast to the 2014 Class B Title game, the weather forecast is calling for it to be a pristine 70 degrees. Last year, it was frigid – as I’m sure everyone remembers.