Batavia’s offense has evolved quite a bit since senior running back Nathan Whitwell carried the ball a whopping 36 times during a season-opening win at powerhouse Glenbard West.
The Bulldogs’ new two-quarterback offense, which shuffles Bodi Anderson and Michael Vander Luitgaren, has started spreading the ball around and has made them more diverse.
But when the Bulldogs needed to grind out Saturday’s Class 7A state quarterfinal game against Downers Grove North, Whitwell was ready for a workload encore — and then some.
“One of my coaches was like, ‘Do you remember Glenbard West? Let’s do it again,’” Whitwell said of the question posed by assistant Chuck Whelpley. “I was like, ‘All right, let’s do it.’”
Whitwell definitely got it done Saturday afternoon, running for 157 yards and a 1-yard touchdown on 40 carries as host Batavia picked up an old-school 17-7 victory over the Trojans.
A stifling defense boosted the Bulldogs (11-1), who advanced to play in the state semifinals against Lincoln-Way Central (9-3), a 28-16 winner over Bradley-Bourbonnais.
Vander Luitgaren also threw a 16-yard TD pass to Isaiah Brown and junior kicker Caleb Peters converted a 21-yard field goal. That was all Batavia needed because of the other side of the ball.
Downers Grove North (10-2) was limited to 154 yards of offense, including only 22 on the ground. The Trojans’ lone score came on a 26-yard interception return from Oliver Thulin.
Relying on the running game and the defense was a good way to go.
“It was time for him to do that,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said of Whitwell. “The wind hurt us a little bit with some of the stuff we had planned in the passing game.”
Whitwell was more than happy to pick up the slack.
“These are my favorite types of games,” Whitwell said. “To run the ball 40 times, it’s just awesome.
“I think it’s a blessing to be able to get the ball that many times and have your team block for you and play their best for you.”
Batavia set the tone right away Saturday with a 10-play, 60-yard drive on its first possession that was capped by Whitwell’s TD run.
Then after a turnover on downs by the Trojans, the Bulldogs put together a 15-play, 91-yard drive that took 6:32 off the clock. It was capped by Brown’s TD catch.
Whitwell had seven carries for 35 yards on the drive.
“Some of the game just felt like a fever dream,” Whitwell said. “It was like, ‘Just keep going.’”
Downers Grove North cut the deficit in half with the interception return late in the second quarter, but the Batavia’s defense took care of the rest.
Jake Feller came with with an interception in the second half. Another Trojans drive was stymied by all-state safety Chase Osborne, who sniffed out a screen pass for a 6-yard loss to end a drive.
Feller and Gavin Pecor later teamed up to block a field goal before Whitwell salted the win away.
“They were fired up and healthy,” Piron said. “Our down three are a terror. When Malachi (Smith) gets going, you can’t really deal with him. (Osborne) is everywhere, all over the field. He’s the best leader, captain, kid. He’s taking us where we need to be. Chase is amazing.”
Osborne said the plan against Minnesota recruit Owen Lansu and the Trojans was simple.
“Our game plan was to come out aggressive,” Osborne said. “We’re not going to let them throw the ball all over on us. We’re not going to give them time in the pocket.
“He’s a great quarterback, good receiving crew. We had to put it on them.”
With Whitwell carrying the load, the Bulldogs closed with drives of 5:34, 5:53 and 6:07.
“There’s nobody better,” Osborne said of Whitwell. “That kid is a specimen — strength, speed, everything. It’s so cool watching him play. He works so hard and is a super, humble guy.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
