Ryan Boe, Batavia spread the wealth, soar past Phillips

BATAVIA – Batavia quarterback Ryan Boe has no shortage of choices to feed the football to.

Having the take-your-pick buffet in wideouts Isaiah Brown, Luke Alwin and Pat McNamara is a great starting course. Add in senior running back Charlie Whelpley, junior running back Nathan Whitwell, senior tight end CJ Valente and having four starters back on the offensive line, Boe, suffice to say, can eat – produce – plentifully.

[ Photos: Batavia vs. Phillips ]

“It’s nice. It’s a lot of guys that I can trust just knowing if I put the ball out for them, they’re going to make a play,” Boe said after Batavia’s 42-20 season-opening victory over Phillips on Aug. 25 in Batavia. “Just really makes me more comfortable. It makes the game kind of easier. ... I know any guy I throw to, they’ll be able to make a play.”

Batavia (1-0) built a 28-6 halftime lead and sustained the momentum until starters were pulled late in the fourth quarter with a 36-point lead. Phillips was able to tack on a pair of fourth-quarter scores, but the Batavia starters finished the job with the Week 1 victory.

Boe scored on the Bulldogs’ first drive on a goal-line rush for a quick 7-0 lead. Phillips quickly answered with Herschel Willie’s 56-yard scamper off the right side to even the score.

Boe responded with an 11-yard touchdown to Alwin, Whelpley ran in from 4 yards out and Boe found Brown for a 9-yard score to make it 28-6 at halftime.

Boe later found Valente for a nifty 21-yard passing score and Nathan Whitwell found the end zone on a 3-yard run for a 42-6 lead to finish the night for the starters.

Boe finished 20 of 34 for 304 yards, three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Brown (4 catches, 68 yards, one touchdown), Valente (2 catches, 37 yards, one touchdown), McNamara (4 catches, 49 yards), Alwin (3 catches, 25 yards) and Whelpley (4 catches, 65 yards) all helped blow open the game.

“We’re trying to have lots of weapons,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “So you can’t key in on anybody. [Defenses] can’t just take one guy away from us. If they do, something else opens up, so that was our goal all along to try to have a very diverse offense with Boe moving it around to a lot of different [places].”

Phillips (0-1) took advantage of a pair of Batavia turnovers to get passing touchdowns from Joe Winslow Jr. to Kelvin Tovar and Emillio Lewis-Jean to finish the Wildcats on a high note.

“Honestly, that’s what we pride ourselves on. We play all four quarters,” Phillips coach Joe Winslow said. “We don’t get quit. To the whistle blows, we keep competing and working.”