Pithy one-liners can be fun and entertaining, quickly emphasizing a teaching point or serving as motivation. It’s probably why coaches like them.

For example, “don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff,” taken from the title of a bestseller in the 1990s, was intended to help people avoid letting things create stress.

Of course, those messages can taken differently. As senior defensive back Kyle Porter will tell you, in Batavia’s football program, the Bulldogs do sweat the small stuff.

Dennis Piron and coaching his staff are more in line with the thinking of Walt Disney, who famously said, “There’s no magic in magic. It’s all in the details.”

Attention to detail helped the 6-foot-5, 190-pound Porter come up with one of two plays of the game Friday night in a DuKane Conference showdown with visiting Wheaton North.

Porter blocked a field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter of a 23-17 victory for Batavia.

“It came down to a field goal block, which we practiced all week,” defensive coordinator Matt Holm said. “We always say special teams are defense. We thought we had something we could exploit, and it turned out perfectly.

“As tight as this game came down to in the end, that play was huge.”

Holding a 10-7 lead at the time, the Bulldogs (4-1, 3-0) then drove for Nathan Whitwell’s 10-year touchdown run to make it a two-score game and gain some breathing room.

“It wasn’t originally designed for me, but I ended up getting free,” Porter said of the block. “It was really just powering their front row down and then slipping through.

“My gap was there. I’ve been practicing going through that gap all week.”

Porter, who said that was his first blocked kick, is second on Batavia with 38 tackles. He has a team-high two interceptions.

Batavia took the lead for good earlier in the third quarter on a 30-yard field goal by Patrick McNamara. It was set up by the other big play where the details mattered.

On third-and-goal at the Batavia 6-yard line, junior linebacker Jake Feller broke through for a sack. It forced a fumble picked up by defensive lineman Xavier Blanquel, who returned it to the Batavia 25.

Feller explained what happened on his blitz, giving him a team-high second sack on the season.

“Our other linebackers and defensive line held them inside, the secondary had great coverage and their tackle just bit in, allowing me to come off the edge, and the quarterback had to keep the ball,” Feller said. “I just got a hand on it.

“You have to stay disciplined and not run too far upfield and out of the play.”

Wheaton North (3-2, 2-1) answered, though, to pull within 16-14.

The Beacon-News

Twice-weekly

News updates from the Aurora area delivered every Monday and Wednesday

See also  North Carolina Roller Derby Team skates for glory

Charlie Whelpley sealed it with a 4-yard TD run, capping a 63-yard drive that ate up much of the remaining time. Whelpley had 47 of his 103 yards on that drive, running behind an offensive line of Jonathan Brown, Brendan Conklin, Jack David, Frankie Porcaro and Nick Ruiz.

“We had two TDs called back earlier and we left points on the board,” Piron said. “I felt like we dominated at times, but Wheaton North gets after you. That’s how that game is supposed to feel.

“I would think both of us are state-caliber teams.”

Preceded by a battle with St. Charles North, the win sets the stage for a third straight conference showdown featuring the top two teams in the Aurora-Elgin area rankings.

Batavia travels Friday to Geneva (5-0, 3-0) for the 105th meeting between the two rivals since 1913, with the conference lead and bragging rights on the line.

“I would think that Geneva will be a state-caliber team for us this week, too,” Piron said. “We knew we’d be battle-tested by this stretch.”

See, details. It’s all about the details.