Big fourth-down plays power Batavia over Rolling Meadows

Batavia quarterback Micah Coffey stayed calm and collected in key situations against Rolling Meadows on Saturday night.

The 6-2 senior tossed two first-half touchdowns on fourth-and-long plays to lead the No. 9-ranked Bulldogs to a 48-13 road win in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

“I think it’s all mental with our guys,” said Coffey, who finished 17-of-28 for 203 yards with two passing scores. “It’s, ‘I’m not going to let the guy across from me beat me on a down like this.’ And I really credit my line for getting it done on the plays we needed to.”

Second-seeded Batavia (10-1) struck first as Kevin Green punched through the Rolling Meadows defense for a one-yard touchdown run with 4:41 to play in the first.

The Bulldogs struck again when they went for it on fourth-and-9. Coffey tossed a 30-yard scoring strike to Jordan Zwart with 8:13 remaining in the second quarter.

Rolling Meadows (7-4), seeded 10th, got on the board thanks to a spectacular catch by Matt Campbell from Bobby Suchecki (17-for-32, 224 yards) for a 56-yard touchdown with 4:44 left in the second. The extra point was no good keeping Batavia’s advantage at 14-6.

The Bulldogs got it back to a two-possession game on the next series as they converted another long fourth down. Facing fourth-and-8, Coffey hooked up with Michael Moffatt (seven catches, 98 yards) for a 27-yard touchdown with just 58.6 seconds left in the second quarter.

Batavia running back Anthony Scaccia (20 carries, 143 yards) had touchdown runs of 21 and five yards in the second half. Coffey scored on a one-yard QB sneak and Anthony Moneghini added a 12-yard TD run.

“Our line did a great job,” Scaccia said. “Throughout practice this week we just focused on executing our game plan and it worked out perfectly.”

Matt Dolan had Rolling Meadows’ only points in the second half, scoring on a 93-yard kickoff return.

“We prepared all week as best we could,” said Campell, who had four catches for 84 yards. “It’s a heartbreaker. They’re a really good team. I have to give them that.”

Kevin Montero was the Mustangs’ leading rusher, picking up 90 yards on 16 carries.

The Bulldogs advance to face Lake Forest in the quarterfinals.

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