Bulldogs top Tigers 41-20
BATAVIA – With one potentially budding rival in the rear-view and a time-honored foe coming to town next week, the Batavia football team cleared some space for smiling Friday night.
A bruising running game led by Quinn Urwiler and an equally aggressive defense steered the Bulldogs past previously unbeaten Wheaton Warrenville South, 41-20, keeping Batavia unblemished and atop the DuKane Conference.
Next up for Batavia: A Week 6 visit from struggling Geneva and a chance to clinch the Bulldogs' ninth successive postseason berth.
“We’ll just keep rolling with what we’ve got,” Bulldogs junior cornerback Jackson Williams said. “I feel like this is the team that could make a big run in the playoffs. So, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing, and I think we’ll be all right.”
Familiarity within the Bulldogs’ offensive playbook ultimately bred contempt from the visiting Tigers (4-1, 2-1 DuKane). Batavia (5-0, 3-0) swelled what had been a 14-13 halftime lead behind heavy doses of Urwiler, who ran for three of his four touchdowns after intermission.
Urwiler scored on runs of 19, 5, 9 and 2 yards and finished with 108 yards on 17 carries.
“Quinn’s just a beast,” senior left guard Anthony Glisson said. “That kid comes out and performs. There’s nothing else to it. He’s built different.”
A 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior, who is listed as a linebacker, Urwiler also recovered one of two Tigers fumbles. Wheaton Warrenville South entered the game without a turnover this season.
“The goal is to always just fly around, make plays,” Williams said. “And when you make plays, turnovers happen. That’s what kind of happened tonight. The first guy rips it out, and then everybody else is there to pick up the ball.”
Seeking its first 5-0 start since the 2010 team went unbeaten en route to the Class 7A state title, WW South encountered sustained adversity from the most recent 7A champs.
The Tigers punted on their first four possessions before senior defensive back Cedric Rowzee returned a Batavia fumble 63 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.
Quarterback Noah Henkel (19 for 35, 226 yards) connected with tight end Jason Haw on the first of the duo’s two touchdowns shortly after that, but Batavia blocked the Tigers’ point-after attempt. Batavia made that play moot after halftime.
With running back Art Taylor sidelined with an injury, Urwiler and Co. gamely shouldered more of the load. Michael Jansey added 120 yards on eight carries, while Urwiler’s brother, Trey, gained 72 yards on 15 carries.
“Honestly, just being able to work together and have a common goal is exactly what was able to control the line of scrimmage for us,” Glisson said. “Just being all together as a unit.”
The Tigers still have plenty to play for, of course. Sweeping a season-opening, four-game homestand – a feat linebacker Jake Stransky called “huge for us” and Henkel termed “unbelievable” – vaulted WW South into contention for its first postseason berth since 2014.
The Tigers can become playoff-eligible with their next win, and will assuredly take their lessons from the Batavia game.
“If you look at the Tigers, we’re a little short and a little slight in terms of body weight,” WWS coach Ron Muhitch said, “but they took it to us tonight, and credit to them.”
Wheaton Warrenville South defensive lineman Chase Keating, left, and linebacker Matthew Zablock stop Batavia quarterback Jack Meyers in the second quarter of their DuKane Conference game Sept. 21 in Batavia.