As a junior, Preston Brummel was primarily a blocking fullback for state-bound Batavia.
With junior running back Charlie Rosengren in street clothes for Friday night’s season opener, however, Brummel realized that his number would be called to carry the ball more often.
All that ran through his head going into the game, though, were the lessons he has learned.
“My coach tells me to get low,” Brummel said. “That’s really what we work on. It gets pounded into our heads — stay low, stay low. Lower the shoulders and it works out.”
It worked out in the fourth quarter. Brummel had a highlight-reel 50-yard touchdown run that tied the game for the host Bulldogs, who eventually took a 31-28 loss to Glenbard West on a field goal as time expired.
Brummel, a senior, ended up with 83 yards on 15 carries for Batavia (0-1). Junior quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren completed 16 of 26 passes for 204 yards and two TDs. Brett Berggren, his favorite target, caught nine of those passes for 147 yards and a TD.
Brennon Zeng added an 11-yard TD catch and Tony Minnec contributed a 41-yard interception return for another TD.
Brummel’s TD run was the highlight of the night. He appeared to be down but spun around like he was in a blender and suddenly shot out and rumbled into the end zone to force a 28-28 tie.
Vander Luitgaren called it “one of the best runs I’ve ever seen.” He had a great view of it, too.
“I thought it was like a five or 6-yard run,” Vander Luitgaren said. “I saw like a beam of red light run out, I swear. I was running down the field screaming, ‘Preston Brummel, what just happened?’
“It was nuts.”
The fact that it was the 6-foot, 210-pound Brummel who had a moment he described as “surreal” brought a smile to the face of Batavia coach Dennis Piron.
“He’s just a tough kid,” Piron said of Brummel. “He’s worked so hard. The growth he’s had from freshman year to this year is just phenomenal.
“He’s going to be somebody by the end of the year that people are going to really know because he works so doggone hard. I just love that kid.”
Last fall, Vander Luitgaren helped lead the Bulldogs to the Class 7A state championship game after being called up midseason. That ratcheted up the pressure on him heading into this year.
It was a mixed bag for him Friday. His 33-yard TD pass to Berggren on fourth down in the third quarter cut the deficit to 28-21. A fumble on the final drive, however, led to the winning field goal by Glenbard West (1-0). He also took seven sacks.
“First thing I want to say is this loss is 100% on me, not on my teammates,” Vander Luitgaren said. “They gave it their all. I have to be better at the end. I have to learn not to get hit as much.
“Maybe throw it away, run out of bounds. I take this one.”
Brummel held no blame for Vander Luitgaren after the game, though.
“It’s a lot of pressure, junior quarterback, very high expectations,” Brummel said. “He did his best. You can’t blame any one person for it. He’ll come back from it. I know he will.”
With several key injuries coming into the game and during the game, Batavia pared back its playbook. Piron was happy with the way his team responded to the adversity.
“What we hoped to have we didn’t have,” Piron said. “Kids stepped up and battled against a team that clearly had us circled on the calendar. We had to put it on the shoulders of guys like Preston.
“For him to step up, carry the ball, try to get used to things, he’ll get better as the season goes on.”
Brummel, meanwhile, put the loss in perspective.
“We never won a state championship without losing a game,” Brummel said. “All it means is that we’ll get to work.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
