Batavia Football gunslinger goes OFF on Wilson; Devils improve to 3-0
Mike Rose | @MFRose11 (Twitter)
Saturday, September 19, 2015 | BataviasBest.org
In what was one of the most entertaining and exciting high school football games you could find last night, Batavia Football defeated Wilson 34-28 at Sahlen’s Stadium. This game took as many twists and turns as a rollercoaster with these two teams battling it out until the final whistle.
Batavia quarterback Greg Mruczek eyes down RB Anthony Gallo in the Blue Devils’ Week 2 game vs Cardinal O’Hara.
To begin the game on Friday, Batavia appeared poised to dominate early-on as Devils’ QB Greg Mruczek looked the best that he has all season – throwing pin-point accurate passes all over the field against the highly-touted Wilson defense. In total, Mruczek had three touchdown passes by the end of the first quarter (Batavia led 22-8), however, he also had a crucial fumble to set up the Wildcats in great field position – which kept them in the game during the first half.
Despite the turnover, a couple plays following the change in possession Batavia’s Adonis Davis stepped in front of a pass and picked it off – returning it down inside the Wilson 20 yard line and essentially erasing his quarterback’s early mistake.
The interception set up Mruczek for yet another touchdown pass, and with just over 11 minutes left in the 2nd quarter of this game, the Devils’ gunslinger had already thrown for 4 TDs – one each to Anthony Gallo and Trever Sherwood, along with two to Ryan Hogan. The score at this point was 28-8 in favor of Batavia, but then the game took another interesting turn.
Putting together a fine answering drive, Wilson was led on their next possession by Senior RB Isaiah Benjamin who played an excellent game, as he capped off a long Wildcats’ drive by punching the ball into the end zone – scoring on a 4th and goal play for what was his second score of the night to make it 28-14.
On the next offensive play for Batavia, one of the more-controversial plays of the game took place.
As Mruczek was hit on a called pass play to begin the ensuing drive, the Batavia QB fumbled the ball away for the second time in the game and the ball was recovered by Wilson. Despite the fumble call, however, it appeared Mruczek’s arm, along with the ball, were each moving forward at the time of the impact but regardless of what appeared to be an incorrect call, the ruling was maintained as a fumble and Wilson scooped the ball up and returned it all the way for a touchdown – instantly making the game tight again at 28-20 late in the first half.
For the remainder of the second quarter, neither team could capitalize on a slew of big plays, so the score remained 28-20 Batavia at the halftime break.
Coming out of the locker room, the second half began with Wilson moving the ball well and eventually punching it in for another score in order to cut the Devils lead even further – but failing to get a two-point conversation yet again, Batavia remained on top 28-26.
The Devils’ two-point advantage held until the fourth quarter, and by fourth quarter standards, this was one crazy finish to a game.
Wilson was able to carry over their success from the third quarter into the fourth and were moving the ball well until a great play by Freshmen Ray Leach (who I mentioned we should keep an eye on last week) earned Batavia an interception and returned the ball to the Blue Devils’ offense with just under 8:00 to play.
Trying to make use of the possession, Batavia worked the ball downfield threw the air – where they found great success
Batavia wide receiver Trevor Sherwood lines up across from the Blue Devils’ week 2 opponent Cardinal O’Hara.
tonight – and scored on another Mruczek to Gallo connection. Mruczek was able to make some great throws on this drive, specifically the touchdown pass which he dropped right into Gallo’s arms in stride – putting Batavia ahead 34-26 as the two sides awaited the PAT.
With the Batavia lead now extended to eight late in the game, the ensuing PAT became crucial in order to make it a two-score contest. Despite the Devils’ best efforts, though, The PAT was blocked by Wilson which preserved the one-possession game.
Minutes following what would be the Devils’ final touchdown of the contest, Wilson’s Benjamin proceeded to take the ensuing kickoff back inside the Batavia 20 yard line – setting the Wildcats up with a favorable chance to tie the ballgame.
After the first few plays of the drive, Batavia was able to hold Wilson to a 4th down incompletion and believed they would be taking over on downs – which would allow them to essentially run out the clock and win the game. However, pass interference was called in the end zone which gave Wilson new life.
Regardless of what could have been a key mistake by the Blue Devils, however, on their second try at 4th down, Wilson was shutdown by the Batavia defense yet again and the Devils’ took over with just under 4:00 to play.
On Batavia’s first play following the turnover on downs, the Devils made yet another big mistake.
Almost immediately after the ball was snapped on the first play of their drive, Wilson defenders were able to close in on a Batavia ball carrier with haste, and eventually tackled him in the end zone for a safety – which moved the score to just a 6 point game at 34-28 with minutes remaining.
After the free kick which went back to Wilson following the safety, the Wildcats began to move the ball well – once again led by Benjamin. After crossing the Batavia 30 yard line, however, it was Wilson’s turn to make a major mistake.
On the very next play after crossing the thirty, the Wildcats would fumble the football back to the Devils with just over 3 minutes to play – almost assuring Batavia the win. However, the Wildcats weren’t going to give the game away that easy.
On the ensuing drive following the turnover, Batavia was unable to move the chains on the Wilson defense and went 3 and out – punting it back to the Wildcats with one last chance to try and seize the victory from the jaws of defeat.
To begin the final drive, the Wildcats were sacked on first down and then threw two-straight incompletions to set up
Batavia’s Malachi Chenault intercepting a ball during a Blue Devils’ practice early this preseason.
4th down with the clock ticking under 40 seconds remaining. On fourth down, the Wildcats gave it one last heave to the end zone, but the ball ultimately landed in the hands of Malachi Cheanault who came down with the game-sealing interception – and the game went final at 34-28 in favor of Batavia.
Overall, both teams were pretty care-free with the football last night as there were a number of turnovers throughout the contest – which allowed either side many extra chances to score the football throughout the game. Both teams were able to put up plenty of points as a result , however, they each did so in vastly disparate fashions.
Wilson primarily attacked through the ground game vs the Blue Devil defense on their way to 28 points, while conversely, Batavia excelled through the air on their way to the victory. Led by QB Greg Mruczek and his 5 passing touchdowns, the QB was clearly the catalyst of this Blue Devils win as he finished 14-27 for 248 yards and an incredible 5 TD passes.
Mruczek’s top-target last night, Trevor Sherwood had 6 catches for 64 yards and his aforementioned touchdown for the Devils, while Anthony Gallo made 4 grabs for 70 yards and 2 scores, and Ryan Hogan totaled 4 catches for 102 yards and 2 scores. A quick side note, Hogan has really begun to solidify himself as a big play threat and a reliable #1 option for the Blue Devils passing game – which will be beneficial to this team as a whole going forward.
Despite the high amount of success they found offensively, however, Batavia’s defensive performance ultimately keyed them to this victory by making a number of stops late in the contest. Specifically, a number of Batavia players made major contributions on defense: Dom Mogavero had 12 tackles, 3 of which for a loss, Danny Williams had 11 tackles(2 for a loss) and a forced fumble, Terren Lovria chipped in 6 tackles and a sack, Ray Leach had 7 tackles (3 for a loss) and the interception mentioned above, Adonis Davis had 6 tackles and an INT, and Clayton Gorski made 6 tackles (2 for a loss) and a huge sack late on Wilson’s final drive.
All in all, Batavia played in a dog fight of a game tonight and were able to come out on top once again in order to improve to 3-0. With the win, the Blue Devils should certainly have plenty of momentum moving forward this season.
Next up for Batavia is a weak Edison Tech team next week.
Other articles you may like:
Friday’s High School Football Scoreboard (9/18/15): A total of 5 games tonight
Friday Night’s High School Football Photo Gallery
Batavia Football @ Wilson Scouting Report & Prediction – Wildcats come in hot as ever
Batavia Football moves to 2-0 with lopsided victory over Cardinal O’Hara
