Bulldogs Enjoy Homecoming Triumph Over Saints

Bigger, faster, better.

Those three words probably best describe 43-7 homecoming football triumph over Upstate Eight Conference River Division foe St. Charles East Friday night at Bulldog Stadium.

After the Saints (0-5, 0-3) narrowed Batavia’s lead to 10-7 on a 12-yard, fourth-and-10 touchdown pass from Charlie Fisher to Joe Hoscheit with 9:09 left in the second quarter, the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) answered with a six-play, 68-yard scoring march, capped by quarterback Noel Gaspari’s 11-yard touchdown toss to senior tight end Cole Gardner.

Those were the first of 33 unanswered points scored by the Bulldogs, who outscored the Saints 23-0 in the second half.

“Tonight, we announced a lot of offensive personnel—about 18 guys because we use so many kids on offense,” said Batavia first-year head coach Dennis Piron. “We use seven or eight linemen, five receivers and five running backs. Our thinking is that it keeps us fresh and healthy throughout the game.”

That may have been the case Friday night, as the Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first three second-half possessions against the Saints, who have been outscored 60-0 in the second half of their last three games.

“We’ve had some pretty big third quarters this year, and that’s a good thing,” said Piron.

Gaspari, who completed 12-of-21 passes for 246 yards, connected with Evan Zeddies on a 20-yard TD strike to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 27-7 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

The 93-yard scoring drive included a 52-yard pass play from Gaspari to Jon Gray (four receptions, 110 yards) on third-and-20 from the Bulldogs’ 35-yard line.

“We definitely have good personnel,” said Batavia senior fullback/linebacker Alec Lyons, who scored a pair of short-yardage touchdowns. “I think that’s what is going to take us to the playoffs. We’ve got people who come up with big plays when we need them.”

Dom Guzaldo added a 16-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter before Bennett Hartmann tackled Saints punter Chris Segretto in the end zone for a safety to round out the scoring.

Lyons, Mike Moffatt and Robbie Bowman added interceptions for the Bulldogs, who have allowed just 32 points in their first five games.

“Our defense has been consistently good all year long,” said Piron. “They’re super fast and aggressive.”

The win set up a showdown with unbeaten Geneva (5-0, 3-0) on Sept. 30 at Burgess Field.

“It’s going to be a great game,” said Lyons. “They’ve beaten us the last four years, so it’s time.”