| BataviasBest.org
Saturday, October 18, 2014
On Friday night the Batavia High football team earned what was perhaps its most impressive victory of the 2014 season. Facing a tough Bath squad who came into the match up possessing an undefeated record, the Blue Devils gave it all they had on Friday night, and walked away with a well-deserved victory.
The game last night began completely in Batavia’s favor, as after receiving the game’s opening kickoff, on just their second play from scrimmage the Blue Devils would strike first.
Dropping back to pass for his first throw of the game after no return, Batavia QB Greg Mruczek looked to his WR Malachi Chenault to the left side of the formation where the tall wideout was being jammed by the Rams’ cornerback off the line. Finding a way to break free and take the top off the defense, he was able to get by the entire Bath secondary along the left sideline, and hauled in a perfect ball from Mruczek who dropped a 90-yard touchdown pass right into the bucket for the game’s first score.
Following the touchdown, the strong faction of Batavia fans as well as the Batavia bench, exploded with pleasure as their team had taken the early lead. It was the first time all season long Bath had trailed their opponent, as the Rams came into the game sporting a 10-game win streak dating back to October 4th of last year. After the quick strike, the bad luck continued for the home team.
As a bad quarterback-center exchange began the ensuing possession, Bath was unable to locate the loose ball which was rolling around on the turf and allowed the Blue Devils to fall on it. Taking over at midfield for their second possession just a minute or so into the game, Batavia’s Anthony Gallo began his impressive night.
Shortly after the drive started, on an early-down play Batavia dialed up a cross field screen pass to the elusive running back, who wound up taking the nicely-designed play 40 yards and the distance for the score. Following a failed two-point attempt, the Blue Devils found themselves with a solid 12-0 lead just minutes into the game, and had seemingly stunned the Bath sideline.
On their next possession Bath would make a change at center due to the bad exchange on their abbreviated drive to begin the game, which ended in the turnover. Even with the adjustment, however, the Blue Devil defense continued to put pressure on the Rams and extended them all the way to a 3rd and 15 midway through the first.
Getting the stop, Batavia would force a punt and took over at their own 45 looking to go 55 yards to extend the lead. Up until this point, the Blue Devils had looked as if they were the far superior team athletically, and it seemed as if the Rams just wouldn’t have an answer for it as the game progressed.
However, they would find it within themselves to respond.
After Batavia took the ball all the way down inside the Rams’ ten yard line on a great 50-yard completion from Mruczek to Jerrett Laskett, the Blue Devils would be faced with a fourth and three in the red zone. Needing a conversion to keep the drive alive, Mruczek was unable to come through for his team and ended up giving the ball away in the back of the end zone to Bath’s Bruce Rinker. Rinker returned the interception 23 yards before he was herded out of bounds by the Blue Devils with 6:00 left in the quarter.
Despite their failure to convert, though, the interception didn’t necessarily kill Batavia yet, as the Rams still needed to go 80 yards to cut into their already two-possession lead.
On third and ten while still inside their own zone it seemed as if Bath was out of luck yet again, but on a designed run by one of their wing backs, the Rams would get the first down and sparked a drive that would end in six points. With 58.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the score had been pushed to 12-6 and it was clear that Bath was not going away.
To open the ensuing drive, Batavia would quickly fumble the ball back to the Rams who now had a chance to tie. As Bath took to the field, they did so without their starting quarterback Michael Rice (not the former Rutgers basketball coach), who left the game with a knee injury shortly after it began.
Behind a quick, run-heavy drive, despite enduring the injury to their QB they were able to find the end zone with 5:45 remaining in the first half. Following a successful two-point try, the Blue Devils found themselves behind 14-12 for the first time in the ballgame and were in need of a clean drive in order to regain the lead going into the half.
Taking over at their own forty yard line Batavia was given great field position on their next possession.
Immediately as the Blue Devils’ drive began, another deep ball from Mruczek to Laskett advanced the rock to the Rams’ forty five yard line as the offense was rolling yet again. Following the big gain, however, Batavia’s drive stalled with 4:15 left in the first half and they were forced to punt the ball back to their opponent. Bath took over at their own twenty yard line, but would turn the ball over for the second time just as soon as they got it.
On what was the thirteenth lost fumble for the Rams this season, the huge break for Batavia gave them back possession on their opponent’s 30 yard line with a great chance to re-take the lead.
Shortly after taking over, Dom Mogavero found the end zone for Batavia on a 24-yard score to the right side of the formation. After the successful two-point try, the Devils first of the night, the score was now 20-14 in favor of the away team with 1:48 left in the first half.
On Bath’s next drive they were unable to take it the distance for points, and the two teams went into the halftime break with the score 20-14.
During the first half, Batavia’s passing game was the clear difference. Unable to contain the Blue Devils’ athletes along the outside, the Rams found themselves giving up big play, after big play to Batavia who had about 5 plays of 20+ yards during the first two quarters.
As they returned to the field following the brief intermission, Bath would take over possession to begin the second half.
Putting together a swift drive using a big play of their own on first down, the Rams took the ball all the way down inside the Batavia ten yard line on the half’s opening possession. On the very next play, a first and goal from the nine, Bath found the end zone and took the lead back following another successful two-point attempt. The score was now 22-20 in favor of the home team.
Taking over shortly into the third quarter, Batavia responded immediately. Following a first down which came on a screen pass from Mruczek to Laskett just past midfield, Gallo would go for his second long touchdown of the night.
Outrunning the entirety of the Bath defense to the outside, Gallo regained the lead for his team as the score was now 28-22 Blue Devils after the successful two-point try. This contest was turning into a Helter Skelter type of game, as both sides were going up and down the field at such a high pace it was difficult to keep up.
As Bath retained possession on the ensuing drive, they would take over at their own 29 in hopes of going 70 yards for the go-ahead score. Up until this point, all of Batavia’s touchdowns (4) had come from outside of the red zone, while all of Bath’s came while inside the scoring area, which was a true testament to the Blue Devils’ big-play ability.
Putting together a nice drive yet again, the Rams found the end zone for their fourth time in order to take back the lead. A nice touchdown pass from their backup quarterback made the score 30-28 after a successful two-point try, and there was 4:50 left in the third quarter as the Batavia offense would take over.
To begin their next drive, the Blue Devils chose to transition primarily to the run game, but the Rams could still not stop Gallo.
Moving the ball all the way down into Bath territory following two nice catches from Trevor Sherwood on a second and third down which kept the drive alive, Gallo would again find space to the outside and march his way into the end zone with 2:04 left in the third quarter. The score was now 36-30 Batavia after a successful two-point attempt and with the two sides approaching the fourth quarter, the shootout seemed to be on.
However, the Blue Devils’ defense would step up for the first time in two quarters on the Rams’ ensuing possession to begin the fourth.
Forcing a turnover on downs after a failed fake punt try by the Rams, Batavia had gotten their first stop in quite some time and were looking to push their lead back to two possessions for the first time since the first quarter. Despite their best efforts, though, Batavia was also forced to punt, and gave the ball back to Bath with a chance to regain the lead themselves. Their drive stalled just past midfield, however, and the Blue Devils took over once again with 6:37 remaining in the game.
With the ball at their own 30 yard line, and the offense faced with a 2nd and 8 with just over five minutes remaining, Anthony Gallo struck again on a 70-yard score that increased his team’s lead to 43-30. It was the Batavia RB’s fourth touchdown during a night that I’m certain he won’t soon forget.
As the Rams got the ball back down by two scores, 5:11 remained on the clock and a stop by the Blue Devil defense would end the game.
Able to get the stop they needed, Batavia’s Noah Dobbertin wound up tipping up a Bath pass to himself along the line of scrimmage in order to seal the deal for his defense with an interception. Just for good measure, Gallo would again find the end zone following the pick for what was his fifth touchdown, as he proved to be unstoppable yet again on Friday night.
Following the final scoring play of the night, as the final two minutes ticked off the clock, Batavia had won the game 49-30 and completed a 6-1 season for the first time since the mid-90s.
“Kids battled all game,” said Batavia head coach Brennan Briggs following the win. “They played like warriors and I am so proud of them. They were down at times late and continued to battle back. They are grinders and fighters.”
Leading the grinders and fighters to victory on Friday was without a doubt the Blue Devils’ big-play threat Anthony Gallo. Accumulating an incredible 265 all-purpose yards against the Rams, the elusive back also scampered his way to 5 touchdowns through the air and on the ground while dominating his opponent for 48 minutes. As the game progressed, it was clear that Bath had no answer for Gallo, and in realizing that, Briggs took advantage and fed him the rock in space several times in the second half. Look for Gallo in our MVP vote coming up on Sunday night – I’m sure he will be in the running.
Also performing well for Batavia in their win on Friday was Greg Mruczek. The Blue Devils’ gunslinger totaled 306 yards through the air versus the Rams on 18 of 27 passing while also completing 3 two-point plays – two of which went to Jerrett Laskett.
Laskett put forth a great effort as well yesterday, as the explosive WR caught 7 balls for 94 yards in a winning effort. In addition to Laskett and Mruczek, Malachi Chenault also had a notable day offensively, as the big-bodied receiver caught 4 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Dom Mogavero chipped in 12 carries for 65 yards and a score as well.
Defensively for Batavia, Trevor Rittersback led the way with 10 tackles, Mogavero was right behind him with 8, and Adonis Davis and James Cryer rounded out the top of the list with 7 tackles a piece. Noah Dobbertin added the late interception to seal the game.
All in all, Friday night was a pure team win for the Blue Devils. Utilizing big plays on offense, while also getting the key stops they needed defensively, Batavia showed up against the Rams in a big way and proved that they can beat any team they go up against from here on out. As they approach Sectionals next week, the Blue Devils will need to continue their momentous play into the first round of the tournament.
Look for a Sectional update as well as increased coverage of all area playoff teams coming next week!
Other articles you may like:
Batavia Sectional Report: Here is what the Blue Devils’ Sectional chances look like
Batavia @ Bath Scouting Report and Prediciton – Will Batavia hand Rams first loss?
Meet the Blue Devils: My one-on-one with Batavia Lineman Devon Koepp
