BATAVIA — In a matchup of two unbeaten teams that met in last season’s Section V Class B title game, HF-L got the better of Batavia, 27-26, on Friday night.
In front of a massive crowd at Van Detta Stadium, Batavia held a 20-7 lead near the halftime break but failed to maintain its momentum and was outscored 20-6 over the final 25 minutes of play as they gave way to the defending Section V Class B champion Cougars.
It’s the third straight win for HF-L over Batavia, including a victory in last season’s sectional championship game.
On Friday night, on the game’s deciding play, Batavia faced a 4th down and 7 with 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter when senior quarterback Jesse Reinhart hurled a pass deep to the right corner of the end zone where junior WR Javin McFollins was waiting behind the Cougars’ secondary. But the pass, being from about 40 yards away, had too much air under it, which allowed HF-L senior defensive back J.T. Killenbeck to recover and leap to deflect the pass away from McFollins’ outstretched arms.
The pass deflection all but ended the game, as the Cougars’ offense came onto the field following the turnover on downs and kneeled out the game’s final seconds.
“That was a great high school football game,” said HF-L head coach John Russ. “A great atmosphere. Happy for our kids in how they battled. Batavia is a great team, and we hope to see them again, win or lose — to have another great game versus a great opponent.”
Senior quarterback Brody Young helped lead HF-L to the big victory, completing 19-of-27 passes for 183 yards with three touchdown passes against a couple of interceptions. On the ground, the Cougars received a big night from senior running back Zac Meacham, who ran for 85 yards on 22 carries while also recording two touchdowns - one rushing and one receiving. Senior wide receiver Ben Carson made six receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown, while fellow senior WR Nolan Smith finished with five receptions for 43 yards and a score.
With plenty of hype surrounding Friday’s game, this one lived up to all of it, and then some.
After a failed fourth-down conversion thwarted Batavia’s opening drive, HF-L got the scoring started with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Young to Smith. On the scoring play, Young took a shotgun snap, rolled to his right, fired across his body and found his target for the score. Following a successful point-after attempt from senior kicker Xavier Carbonel, the Cougars had gained a 7-0 advantage.
Less than two minutes later, with 46 seconds remaining in the opening frame, Batavia junior RB Aidan Anderson finished a quick drive with a 16-yard touchdown run.
Following Anderson’s touchdown, Batavia typically would have turned to junior kicker Julia Petry who has been nearly automatic on PATs this season, missing just one kick up to this point. However, Petry was on the sideline in street clothes throughout the game due to an injury sustained in a bus accident on the way home from Batavia’s Week 5 win over Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton. In Petry’s stead, Batavia turned to junior Alex Bartz, who came on for the point after but was unsuccessful.
With under one minute to play in the first quarter, the score was 7-6 in favor of HF-L.
Meacham fumbled just one play into the Cougars’ ensuing drive to give the Blue Devils the ball back before the quarter was through. Batavia found the end zone immediately, as Reinhart found McFollins for a 39-yard touchdown strike just 18 seconds after their previous score. This time, Batavia elected to go for two, which they converted on a scoring run from junior Carter McFollins. With 28 seconds to go in the first quarter, Batavia had seized the advantage, 14-7.
Batavia increased its lead midway through the second quarter, as Anderson again found the end zone, this time on a 55-yard sprint with 6:06 remaining in the first half. Batavia again tried to go for two, but this time its conversion attempt failed, and their lead sat at 20-7.
The Cougars took over after Anderson’s second TD of the game and manufactured a lengthy drive which ended with a one-yard TD run from Meacham, which cut the HF-L deficit to 20-13 with 17 seconds to play until halftime. The PAT from Carbonel failed, and that’s where the score would remain heading into the break.
Following extended halftime, which featured a brief ceremony honoring Batavia’s 1991 state champion football team and a performance from the BHS rock band, color guard and dance team, the HF-L freight train continued to gain steam.
The Cougars scored quickly to begin the third quarter, as Young found Carson for a 34-yard pitch and catch. Young’s second TD pass of the game helped HF-L even the score at 20-20 just 3:17 into the second half, as Carbonel’s PAT found its mark.
Once again, Batavia responded in kind, as Reinhart finished off another successful drive with a one-yard touchdown run, thanks in part to a 71-yard run from Anderson that help set up the score, which regained the Blue Devils’ lead at 26-20. After two straight two-point tries, Batavia elected to call the kicking unit onto the field again and try for a PAT. And again, it would prove unsuccessful as Batavia’s lead remained at six with 6:54 to go in the third.
HF-L regained the lead to begin the fourth, as a Carson Joint interception near the end of the third led to Young connecting with Meacham on a swing pass for his third TD strike of the night, which evened the score at 26-all. Carbonel then came on for the PAT and successfully put it through the uprights to give his team a one-point lead with 11:55 remaining.
Batavia went three-and-out on its ensuing drive and punted the ball back to the Cougars before HF-L wound up punting the ball back to the Blue Devils with 6:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the return, Batavia received an excellent burst from sophomore Vincent Arroyo, who caught the ball at Batavia’s 10-yard line and advanced it to the Devils’ 45-yard line, where they would begin what turned out to be their final drive of the game with just under six minutes to play.
On their final drive, Batavia gained a couple of first downs and worked the ball inside the HF-L 30-yard line, where the possession would come to an end after Reinhart’s fourth-down pass to McFollins was knocked away by Killenbec. The turnover on downs was caused in part due to a Batavia false start on 4th and 2, which instead made the conversion more challenging and likely impacted the Devils’ play-call.
Following the failed conversion, HF-L called its offense onto the field to kneel out the final 1:10 of the game.
“It was a great game,” said Batavia head coach Brennan Briggs. “We will correct the mistakes and get back to work tomorrow. The kids played hard tonight. I’m proud of them.”
Anderson powered the Batavia attack throughout the night, finishing with 162 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Reinhart also had a big game, completing 10-of-14 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. He also threw an interception and ran for 68 yards on eight carries. In the loss, Reinhart’s favorite target was Javin McFollins, who caught three passes for 91 yards and the score. McFollins also made seven tackles, one of which came for a loss. Carter McFollins made four tackles to go with an interception and a forced fumble, which Javin recovered.
Senior linebacker Kaden Marucci carried Batavia defensively, finishing with a team-high 13 tackles. Arroyo also played well for the Blue Devils’ defense, recording eight tackles, while junior linebacker Matthew McWethy finished with seven tackles, three of which came for a loss.
Batavia falls to 5-1, while HF-L improves to 6-0 and remains atop the Sec. V Class B standings. According to the New York State Sportswriter’s Association, the Blue Devils entered the week as the No. 5 team in the state, while the Cougars were the No. 4 team in the NYSSWA’s Class B rankings.
“I respect the heck out of Briggs and his staff,” said Russ. “They’re a great team, and we hope to see them again to give the fans another instant classic.”
HF-L is 4-1 against Batavia in the two teams’ last five meetings.
A replay of Friday’s game can be viewed here.
Looking ahead, the Blue Devils will take on Newark/Marion (1-3) next week, while the Cougars await a matchup with Geneva (0-4).
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Batavia drops classic battle to HF-L in front of lively crowd at Van Detta - The Daily News Online
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