Geneva pulls away from Batavia in fourth

One of the great rivalry games in the state played out at Bulldog Stadium in Batavia to conclude the regular season Friday.

It was a much closer affair than most may have predicted, considering Geneva was 7-1 coming in and Batavia was 2-6.

Although the contest carried fewer playoff implications than in recent years, Geneva could not shake free of Batavia until the final quarter and headed to the postseason with a 23-0 win.

"We just couldn't establish any offense, and you have to credit their team for that. We just couldn't get enough going," Bulldogs coach Mike Gaspari said.

Batavia had its troubles in the first half and sputtered to only 17 yards of offense, but its defensive unit made plays at critical times.

Charlie James kicked a 27-yard field goal to give the Vikings a quick 3-0 lead in the first quarter. But Alec Lyons recovered a fumbled pitch by Geneva's Michael Santacaterina at the Batavia 5 to halt a 58-yard drive in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs defenders stopped a 55-yard drive late in the half by holding Geneva on downs at its own 26, and trailed only 3-0 at halftime.

"The weather and field conditions obviously helped keep everybody bottled up, and our kids played extremely hard on defense," Gaspari said.

After two penalties were called on the Vikings and they were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, Batavia gained excellent field position at the Geneva 34. But the Vikings defense held and regained possession on downs.

Santacaterina, along with Jay Graffagna and Connor Quinn, then led Geneva on a 78-yard march against the tiring Bulldogs defense. Santacaterina carried the final 4 yards early in the fourth for a 9-0 lead.

"I was really proud of my kids. They didn't panic, but just stayed the course," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "We just tried to stay with what we were doing the first half."

After stopping Batavia on its ensuing possession, Santacaterina exploded with the big play Geneva had been waiting for. After taking a pitch around the right side, he cut back and raced untouched for a 61-yard score and a 16-0 lead.

"Our wideout actually made a great block. He pushed him outside and I just cut back inside and it was really wide open," Santacaterina said. "It was all the blocking and a simple cut-back."

Late in the game, a broken play gave Geneva its final touchdown. After a bad snap, punter Jack Delebar chased it down and fired a desperation pass. Santacaterina grabbed it and weaved 61 yards for the score.

Batavia finished its rebuilding year at 2-7 (1-6 in the Western Sun Conference). Geneva (8-1, 6-1) clinched at least a share of the league crown and awaits the playoff pairings.