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Sports

Bulldogs Unleash Fury on Elgin Maroons During Shutout

Noel Gaspari shakes off an injured shoulder to throw a pair of touchdown passes during Batavia's 49-0 victory over Elgin Friday night. The Bulldogs remain unbeaten at 7-0.

A week ago, Noel Gaspari wasn’t sure if his season had come to an untimely ending after he during Batavia’s 46-34 victory over rival Geneva.

Worry not, Bulldog fans.

The senior quarterback proved that he is A-OK after throwing for a pair of
touchdowns during the Bulldogs’ 49-0 rout of Elgin (1-6, 0-5) Friday night in .

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Gaspari, who completed 8-of-11 passes for 143 yards, connected with Evan Zeddies for a 6-yard touchdown early in the second quarter before tossing a 70-yard TD strike to sophomore tailback Anthony Thielk on the Bulldogs’ next offensive possession.

Those touchdown passes extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-0.

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“Noel practiced Wednesday and was fine,” said Batavia Coach Dennis Piron. “And he threw the ball great on Thursday so I knew he was good to go. He’s got full range of motion and he said he felt great.”

True Team Effort

Batavia, which improved its Upstate Eight Conference River Division record to 4-0, displayed its superior offensive balance as five different players accounted for the Bulldogs’ first five touchdowns.

After Dom Guzaldo opened the scoring with a 4-yard TD run midway through the first quarter, fellow tailback Alex Moore found the end zone from 6 yards out to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-0.

Alex Lyons’ 1-yard touchdown run and Guzaldo’s 38-yard TD scamper helped the Bulldogs establish a commanding 42-0 halftime advantage that led to a running clock for the entire second half.

Dan Albrecht’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jared Beckmann with 8:23 left in the contest closed out the scoring for the Bulldogs, who are averaging nearly 44 points per game through seven weeks.

What Makes Batavia's Defense Click?

Defensively, Batavia posted its first shutout of the 2011 campaign, stuffing Elgin’s running game to minus-31 yards.

“It is mentality and an attitude,” said senior middle linebacker Sean Oroni, who was credited with a career-best 20 tackles against Geneva. “It’s all about the pursuit, and we don’t give up on plays.”

About the only aspect of the game where the Bulldogs struggled were their 11 penalties for 120 yards.

“We’re still making too many penalties,” Oroni said. “That will be a major thing we’ll work on at practice.”

Oroni, three weeks ago, is enjoying the team’s 7-0 mark.

“It has been a great start to my senior year,” Oroni said. “But I think we can still get better as a team.”

Who's Next?

Batavia will visit St. Charles North at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14.

Season So Far

Click on any of the scores below to get a recap and photos from each game.

Batavia (7-0)

Aug. 26

Sept. 2

Sept. 9

Sept. 16

Sept. 23

Sept. 30

Oct. 7     Batavia 49, Elgin 0

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