Batavia is one win from reaching the Class 7A state title game at Northern Illinois in large part because the Bulldogs’ cornerbacks crushed it last week.
Seniors John Golden and Tom Stuttle intercepted three passes each as Batavia won 20-10 at Lincoln-Way West to advance to a semifinal date with Benet at 1 p.m. Saturday at Benedictine.
Stuttle, whose key TD reception on offense gave Batavia the lead, grabbed the headlines. Hindsight being 20/20, Golden was equally worthy.
Take the word of Batavia defensive backs coach Billy Colamatteo.
“Not to be overlooked in that game was that John also had 12 tackles,” Colamatteo said. “He finished with three interceptions, 12 tackles and five passes defended. We’ve never had that in a game by a cornerback, ever.”
What a long way Golden has come since earning a starting job in last season’s opener at Belleville West and then losing it by Week 2.
One and done certainly was not the start Golden envisioned for his varsity career, but that’s what happened when he struggled in the opener.
“Coach kept telling me before that game, ‘They’re going to run a slant on you,'” Golden said. “Two minutes into the game I forget about it and they run a slant (for a big gain). A few plays after that, I muffed a punt. So that didn’t go well.”
Colamatteo noticed.
“I benched him,” Colamatteo said. “He wasn’t quite ready to start yet.”
Golden remembers coming off the bench and giving up another big play on a wheel route in the second game. After that, he didn’t get as much playing time but did start in JV games.
“He was kind of a forgotten man,” Batavia head coach Dennis Piron said.
Derailed by adversity, however, was not going to be his legacy, Golden decided.
He kept working and made it back on the field for most of the final game of the 2016 season, a second-round playoff loss at Jacobs.
“Of all my DBs, John’s one of my hardest workers,” Colamatteo said. “He’s a three-sport athlete, playing basketball in the winter and running track in the spring. After track workouts, he made sure he got in the weight room and got all his lifts done, too.”
Through 12 games, Golden has 64 tackles (54 solo) to rank seventh on the team. He has five interceptions and a team-high 13 pass deflections.
“Funy thing is, he has had two more interceptions taken away from him on dual-possession rulings and both clearly were not dual possession, ” Colamatteo said.
Golden said he and the other Batavia defensive backs work hard on breaking to the ball and running through a receiver’s arms to break up a possible catch.
“I feel a lot more confident in my tackling and breaking on the ball,” he said. “And coach’s calls usually put us in good position.”
He and his classmates are one win from reaching a goal they’ve had since 2013, when Batavia’s Class 6A state championship team that included his older brother Ed visited their lunch room.
“We’ve been dreaming if it since,” John Golden said. “I remember being at Huskie Stadium that day they won. There were so many people and it was such a great environment. I just want to play in a game like that. When Batavia made those big plays I just thought that was so exciting and I wanted to be there one day.”
Twitter @RickArmstrong28
Mike Clark’s Chicago-area rankings
With records and last week’s rankings
1. Lincoln-Way East 12-0 (1)
Up next: vs. No. 2 Maine South (8A).
2. Maine South 11-1 (2)
Up next: at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East (8A).
3. Prairie Ridge 12-0 (3)
Up next: at Hoffman Estates (6A).
4. Loyola 11-1 (4)
Up next: at Edwardsville (8A).
5. Phillips 12-0 (5)
Up next: at Sterling (5A).
6. Lake Zurich 12-0 (9)
Up next: vs. No. 13 Mount Carmel (7A).
7. Naperville Central 9-3 (7)
Season over.
8. Batavia 11-1 (11)
Up next: vs. No. 14 Benet at Benedictine (7A).
9. Marist 11-1 (6)
Season over.
10. Nazareth 11-1 (14)
Up next: at No. 11 Providence (6A).
11. Providence 8-4 (15)
Up next: vs. No. 10 Nazareth (6A).
12. Oswego 10-2 (8)
Season over.
13. Mount Carmel 9-3 (18)
Up next: at No. 6 Lake Zurich (7A).
14. Benet 9-3 (16)
Up next: vs. No. 8 Batavia at Benedictine (7A).
15. Minooka 9-3 (10)
Season over.
16. Homewood-Flossmoor 9-2 (20)
Season over.
17. St. Charles East 8-3 (19)
Season over.
18. Raby 11-1 (NR)
Up next: vs. Morris (4A).
19. Lemont 10-2 (17)
Season over.
20. Lincoln-Way Central 10-2 (13)
Season over.
