Batavia football coach Dennis Piron called the decision a no-brainer. St. Charles North coach Robert Pomazak called it a game-changer.
And while an onside kick midway through the second quarter might seem like an insignificant moment in Batavia’s 48-28 Upstate Eight River win Friday night, it actually spoke volumes.
The game turned when Batavia scored three times in 2:20 to take total command in the first half. That 140-second stretch included the onside kick and proved to be the difference between Batavia’s 29th straight conference win and what looked on paper to be its biggest challenge of the season.
Tied 14-14 midway through the second quarter, Batavia quarterback Kyle Niemiec (13-for-23, 164 yards, 2 TDs) turned a fourth-and-1 into a 22-yard touchdown run and a 21-14 lead with 4:48 left in the half. On North’s first play on the ensuing possession, Batavia’s Zack Majka scooped up a fumbled handoff in the backfield and scored from 8 yards out.
Then came the decision.
“We had momentum. You could feel it, so we just went for it,” said Piron. “It wasn’t that big of a decision. We trust our kids. And we’ve got a kicker (freshman Jack Carlson) who can do it. He’s awesome at it. And he’s fearless.”
After recovering the kick, the Bulldogs (5-0, 3-0) and Niemiec made the North Stars pay six plays later, rushing 5 yards for a TD and 35-14 lead with 2:28 left in the half.
“It was a great call,” Pomazak said. “It’s those little calls and execution that makes them a better team than us now. It’s the difference between good teams and great teams.”
The North Stars (3-2, 0-2) held a brief 7-0 lead following quarterback Zach Mettetal’s 10-yard TD pass to Griffin Hammer in the first quarter. He then tossed a 21-yard TD pass to his twin brother, Tyler Mettetal, with 9:18 left in the half that tied the score at 14-14.
That’s when Batavia’s offense, defense and special teams took over.
“We’re always a fast and physical defense,” Majka said. “Even in practice, we practice fumble recovery and knocking balls out. I’m always ready to get in there and look for the ball. And I know the guys behind me are there if I miss a tackle or a fumble. And then, with the onside kick, we have our third-string quarterback in there. That just shows how much we trust each other.”
Batavia running back Zach Garrett (33 carries, 191 yards) scored on late runs of 1 and 11 yards.
St. Charles North got a 1-yard TD pass from Zach Mettetal (15-for-23, 198 yards) to Jayson Reckards early in the fourth, and running back Eric Lins (14 carries, 73 yards) had a 1-yard plunge to end the scoring.
Phil English is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.