The Batavia Lady Devils Flag football team picked up a big win at home last evening at Van Detta Stadium with a 16-6 victory over Eastridge to remain undefeated at 3-0 in its inaugural season.
Eastridge scored early in the opening half to lead 6-0. Batavia answered back late in the half when quarterback Julia Clark passed to Nicole Doeringer for a 14-yard touchdown. Clark scored the extra point on a 3-yard run.
From that point on, the Blue Devils' defense was stout.
"That was the first time all year that a team came out in the opening drive and scored on us," said Defensive Coordinator Aaron Fix. "We haven't been in that position before. And I was really proud of how all the girls stayed composed. They got after it after that, and I thought our aggressiveness, upfront with our two girls that we brought a lot of pressure with, they did a phenomenal job. And our safeties did a great job staying back playing that pass. So it was really a great defensive team effort tonight."
At halftime, Batavia led 7-6.
After a mistake by Eastridge, when an offense was flagged for holding in the end zone, Batavia added two points on the safety, making it 9-6.
"That was a huge play for us," Head Coach Ben Bucholtz said. "When you get those defensive points, it's a bonus. Our girls were relentless on the defensive side of the ball. That was just an effort play (The player who committed the penalty) had no choice but to hold her or to give up a sack. So either way, it was gonna be a safety. It gave us a lot of confidence coming back out, being able to turn the football around and burn some clock and then punch another one in to seal the win."
Senior Tiarah Banks picked off a pass with three minutes left in the game.
On the next play, Julia Clark scored on a 39-yard touchdown run, and the extra point attempt was good.
And the 16-6 score held the rest of the game.
Sophomore Kylee Brennan led the team with nine tackles, and Jamin Macdonald had five tackles. Julia Clark had 131 yards on the night in passing and running.
The team is 3-0 but there's still the rest of the season to play, Bucholtz noted.
"We have a ton of things to clean up. I mean, these girls are learning every day," Bucholtz said. "We made a lot of mistakes today. To come out on top is a testament to how hard they're working. We're still learning. They're learning, learning, learning. This is the first year of it, so these girls are put on their thinking caps when they get to practice, and they really, really enjoy it."
Batavia Lady Devils' next game is on May 16, at home versus Rochester Academy Charter School, game time 7 p.m.
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Photos by Steve Ognibene.
