Class 7A playoffs: Batavia rolls into quarters with win over Lincoln-Way Central

BATAVIA – Batavia junior wide receiver Isaiah Brown officially is entrenched in the program.

After transferring from Yorkville before the start of the season, Brown has endured an upward climb toward becoming a mainstay on the field. He caught a team-high 42 receptions for 461 yards for the Foxes last season.

“I think I made the right decision to come here and play with all the guys,” Brown said. “I have a good bond with everybody. It’s been great so far. It was hard, but once the decision was made, it was well worth it.”

Kneeling down on the turf after the Bulldogs’ 45-17 throttling of Lincoln-Way Central in a Class 7A second-round playoff game on a sunny and warm Saturday afternoon Nov. 4, Brown was intently listening to coach Dennis Piron’s passionate postgame speech.

Standing just a few yards away from Piron on his left side, Brown looked up to see star quarterback Ryan Boe smiling ear-to-ear while playfully patting Brown’s lush hair.

“That’s my guy,” Brown said of Boe. “They wish they would have it, so I got to let them touch [the hair].”

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Batavia’s Luke Alwin celebrates his touchdown during the Class 7A second round playoff game against Lincoln-Way Central in Batavia on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (Sandy Bressner)

[ Photo store: Lincoln-Way Central vs. Batavia in the Class 7A playoffs ]

Brown earned the postgame smile and plaudits from his quarterback after catching a highlight-reel 6-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone late in the third quarter.

Boe, a North Dakota State recruit, passed for 272 yards and three touchdowns but his floating pass to the far corner of the end zone was one of his best of the season.

Brown’s ability to slow down, stretch out his hands to snare the pass and then get both feet in right before hitting the pylon and falling to the ground was another example of his vast potential.

“I was running toward the corner and it was a great throw, just a great ball he threw to me,” Brown said. “Coming here and getting a quarterback like Boe is crazy. It’s elevated me to the best of my ability. I’ve been coming to practices working hard. He’s been putting balls in the perfect spot. It’s been great and gotten me a lot better.”

Boe made another key play that showed his versatility, delivering a big block that allowed Charlie Whelpley to spring loose for a 24-yard touchdown run to pad Batavia’s lead to 35-10.

“Whatever I’ve got to do, whether I need to make a block or wherever I need to make it to help the team,” Boe said.

Boe said Brown is a player to watch in the playoffs and next season.

“It’s great having him and he was the new guy coming here but he learned the offense and getting the timing down,” Boe said. “It’s great getting to know him and being able to work here. It’s nice having a guy who can make plays like he does. He’s a real athlete who makes crazy plays like he did today.”

The Bulldogs (10-1) won the game behind their strong play on both lines while getting quality production from Boe and holding the Knights (9-2) to 269 total yards, with most of that yardage coming in the final nine minutes. Boe tossed a 35-yard scoring strike to Luke Alwin in the second quarter and a 20-yard TD pass to CJ Valente on fourth down to open the scoring in the first quarter. Nathan Whitwell hada 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

“Obviously, Batavia is really good and they are the standard and what you want to try and get to,” Lincoln-Way Central coach David Woodburn said. “We knew we were going to have our hands full. There’s always a shot, but they were the better football team today.”

Piron was all smiles after the blowout home victory as the Bulldogs mugged for individual and group pictures on the sun-drenched afternoon for an extended period of time. The Bulldogs didn’t punt the ball all game and allowed a late touchdown when the game was out of reach.

The Bulldogs advanced to play host Rockton Hononegah (11-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday in the state quarterfinals.

“We’ve been practicing so well and talked about climbing the ladder of being that team that would beat our own team,” Piron said. “Our depth has paid off for us. We’ve tried to be diverse. … We have a whole bunch of guys who can catch the football, so you have to play that whole group. Our offense has put a lot of pressure on teams.”