By Bobby Narang –
Two games into the high school football season, Batavia High School is right where it left off at the end of last season.
After a 13-1 record and capturing the Class 7A State championship, the Bulldogs entered this season aiming for repeat results.
The Bulldogs defeated host Lemont, 22-15, in the opener and knocked off Naperville North, 41-24, Friday, both worthy opponents. The Bulldogs, 2-0, will play their DuKane Conference opener at home against Lake Park, 1-1, Friday at 7:30 p.m., in the conference’s first year.
Batavia quarterback Jack Meyers passed for 143 yards and sophomore tailback Trey Urwiler paced the offense with 189 yards rushing Friday against Naperville North.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Batavia head coach Dennis Piron said. “We’re starting to show the things we can do. We’ve got to clean up a bunch of stuff and we’re trying to use a lot of personnel, but we’re almost there.”
One of the early season surprises in the new DuKane Conference is Geneva. The Vikings, coming off a 4-5 season, lost their first two games, to Niles Notre Dame and Kaneland, by a combined margin of 80-21.
Kaneland, 2-0, lost 28-21 to Geneva last season, but offensive stars, quarterback Joe Smith and running back Jonathan Alstott combined for five touchdowns to spark the Knights Friday against Geneva. Smith, a junior, passed for three touchdowns and Alstott a four-year varsity player, rushed for two TDs in the 35-14 victory.
Geneva will seek its first victory of the season at Wheaton Warrenville South Friday in the DuKane Conference. The Tigers, 2-0, have won both of their games behind a solid defense and quality special teams play. Wheaton Warrenville South took shutout victories over Metea Valley, 26-0, and Lockport, 41-0. Glenbard North, 0-2, will be at St. Charles East, 2-0, and Wheaton North, 1-1, will be at St. Charles North, 1-1, in other DuKane Conference openers Friday. Four schools were in the Upstate Eight Conference last season, Batavia, Geneva, and the St. Charles schools, and four schools were in the DuPage Valley Conference.