University Prep walked onto Woodward Field on Friday night with a reputation for being big, fast and athletic, and as a Class A team, the Griffins were expected to give the Batavia Blue Devils all they could handle.
Instead, the tables were turned. UPrep was a tough challenge for the defending Section V Class B champions, but even after giving up a couple of big plays, Batavia seemed to be in charge and never really surrendered that all-important intangible, momentum.
Even so, this wasn't a statement game for the varsity squad, said running back Dom Mogavero.
"Every game is important to us," Mogavero said. "We work so hard, all the way from two-a-days, we've been working out since winter; we've all been together, doing the off-season work, and all of that just leads up to this game and then the next one. We just wanted to play as hard as we can, get a W and start the season right."
Mogavero once again proved to be a key part of the Blue Devils' effort on offense and defense, helping the Blue Devisl to a 33-26 victory. Offensively, he had 23 carries for 135 yards and two TDs. He had eight tackles.
QB Greg Mruczek was 13 for 18 for 124 yards and one touchdown.
Newcomer Ray Leach opened the game with a kick return for a TD and 110 total return yards.
Danny Williams, back on defense this year, had eight tackles.
Even for all the success on opening night, Head Coach Brennan Briggs wasn't entirely satisfied. The defense exposed a couple of weaknesses and missed some assignments. That left the fourth-year coach a little frustrated after the game, a fact he shared with his team.
“Obviously a win is a win, but we talk about improving ourselves every single week and I guess this is the baseline right here," Briggs said. "If we can improve our mistakes and tighten up some things we didn’t do right, I think we can get to where we need to be."
Picked as the preseason #1 small school team in Section V in a coaches' poll, Batavia has a schedule full of strong teams looking to knock down the top team, so Briggs said he expects the hard work to continue.
“It was great having to defend athletes like this because there is no doubt that they are very athletic and a very good football team,” Briggs said. “I’m proud of these guys because the next three weeks we play against teams that are very much like this.”
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