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Sports

Batavia Football Program Ready For Pigskin Challenges in 2011

Batavia's football team has a new head coach who is very familiar to the program. The Dogs' 2011 home opener is Aug. 26 against Marmion.

Batavia’s football team may have a new head coach in 2011, but he is no stranger to the Bulldogs’ athletic scene.

Dennis Piron, a 1983 graduate of , has served as an assistant football coach for the past 22 years while also guiding the Bulldogs’ track and field teams.

Piron will try to lead the Bulldogs to their 15th state playoff appearance in 20 years. He steadfastly denies that much has changed during the past off-season, despite the switch at the top of the coaching chain.

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“If you want to be honest here, there’s really no difference,” said Piron, who will relinquish his duties as defensive coordinator to long-time assistant Matt Holm, himself a 1987 Batavia graduate.

Meanwhile, , who retired following the 2010-11 school year, returns as the team’s offensive coordinator.

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“The nice thing is that it has been a lot of the same guys,” Piron said. “The only major change is that Matt (Holm) is doing a lot more calling defensive plays than he has done the last couple years.

“Mike (Gaspari) and I have switched roles but it makes sense for our kids and our team for him to stay calling the plays,” Piron added. “That is what’s best for our program.”

Returning Veterans

Another positive for the program is the return of veteran players Noel Gaspari, Zach Strittmatter (WR), Evan Zeddies (WR), Alec Lyons (FB-LB), Nick Pappas (OT), Mac Brown (LB), Kevin Schroeder (S), and Cole Gardner (DE-TE) from a Class 6A playoff-qualifying team that finished 5-5 a year ago.

“We’ve got a lot of guys back at the key positions,” said Piron, whose team will open the 2011 season Friday night at home against neighboring Marmion.

Perhaps the most important position on the football field will be occupied by 5-11, 175-pound senior quarterback Noel Gaspari, who threw for 1,885 yards and 16 touchdowns (with only three interceptions) last season.

“That’s huge,” Piron said of having Gaspari back under center. “It’s nice having a three-year starter back instead of having a guy playing his first game. It’s so difficult playing quarterback at the varsity level. If you’ve never played it before, that first game could be tough for a kid.”

Piron expects another knockdown, drag-out battle in the season opener against the defending Class 6A state runner-up finishing Cadets.

“I’m really pleased with everything our kids have done during the off-season,” Piron said. “But once again, you have to play an opponent and the opponent we’re going to play is coming out of the state championship game, so I think it should be a very good game Friday night.

“It will be a good test for the type of season that we’ll have,” added the coach.

Power Players

With offensive weapons like Gaspari, Strittmatter, Zeddies, Lyons, Gardner and running backs Austin Lindquist, Robbie Bowman and Dom Guzaldo, Piron is confident that his team will find the end zone with regularity.

“I really think we’re capable of having some nights where we explode offensively,” the coach said. “And I feel that we have a fast, aggressive defense. Hopefully we can take advantage of mistakes that our opponents make.”

The place-kicking duties will be handled by Brandon Clabough, while Jon Gray does the punting.

Batavia, which finished 4-2 in its inaugural season as a member of the Upstate Eight Conference River Division, begins the conference slate Sept. 9 at Larkin.

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