Geneva (5-1) at Batavia (3-3)
7 p.m. Friday
Rob Williams is out, so the Blue Devils are going to have to change things up quite a bit.
Williams has been a monster this season but suffered a hip injury in last week's 34-14 loss to East Rochester/Gananda. But he was shut down, gaining only 26 yards on 15 carries, and left in the third quarter with the injury.
The senior with 904 yards rushing will be missing this week but should be back for the Class B playoffs the following week.
This means drastic changes in how Batavia will run its offense, takes away the biggest playmaker on special teams and means the defensive secondary will be severely limited.
But the Blue Devils have a plan; give the ball to Anthony D'Aurizio as much as possible, play the field position game and try to control the tempo of the game.
D'Aurizio has carried the ball 83 times for 826 yards and eight touchdowns and has been the thunder to Williams' lightning. An experienced athlete, D'Aurizio is going to have to put the team on his shoulders and carry them this week.
"He's going to have to have a monster game, no doubt about it," coach Dan Geiger said.
As good as D'Aurizio is, Geneva will be focusing on him and the Blue Devils are going to need to do other things.
Vinny Pedro has done some good work as the third back and would help his team a bunch if he could make a big play or two with the ball in his hands. Fullback Todd Logsdon could also see increased carries this week.
And it is time for quarterback Joe Canzoneri to step up.
The junior has not had to do much with his arm because of Batavia's strong running game, but expect him to be put in the position to make plays that could determine the outcome of the game.
Canzoneri is a skilled quarterback that will have to get the ball to receivers like Pedro, Devonte Rolle and Joe Schlossel.
Batavia has been on the road for the last three weeks and returns home for homecoming and a game with a Geneva squad that is the top seed in Class B. The Blue Devils have clinched a playoff berth and will probably end up at No. 7 or 8.
Geneva has a stud quarterback in Bobby Martin and has won two consecutive sectional championships. The Panthers are ranked fourth in the state in Class B.
Martin is surrounded by good athletes and is going to be hungry after a 14-13 loss to Canandaigua last week, in a battle of unbeaten squads.
