Kane County Notes: Batavia QB Michael Vander Luitgaren emerging as team’s newest secret weapon

Batavia’s been known for switching things up on offense for the postseason in recent years.

In 2021, it was moving LB Tyler Jansey to running back, where he and Ryan Whitwell helped carry the team to the championship game.

Last year, it was wide receiver Brett Berggren, who emerged as another quality receiving and scoring threat on their trip to the Class 7A semifinals.

This year, the surprise comes at the quarterback position. Sophomore pass-slinger Michael Vander Luitgaren, who’s name isn’t present on the back of his jersey like most other varsity players, has worked his way into the QB rotation, and his three passing touchdowns helped the Bulldogs complete their comeback 25-21 victory over Lincoln-Way West in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

“We’ve been doing this all along, especially the last few weeks, but he’s been emerging for us,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “It was a game that the game script got weird because of the score, and there were some things offensively and schematically that we were doing that were giving us some opportunities to do that.”

After playing a majority of the season with the sophomore team, as well as appearing in the late stages of blowouts against South Elgin and St. Charles East, Vander-Luitgaren made his first appearance with the main varsity team in their Week 9 victory over Glenbard North after junior Bodi Anderson exited due to sickness, where he finished 6 of 10 for 61 yards. After that, Piron said the coaching staff saw some things that led to him and Anderson sharing drives in their first-round victory over Collinsville.

But the preparation for his second-round performance goes further back than that. Piron said that he’s had the sophomore taking reps with the varsity team as far back as six weeks prior to the victory. And while it was originally to make sure that the Bulldogs had a backup ready to go, it’s ended up being a saving grace for their season.

“Whenever the sophomores were in a situation that they really felt good about, we had him prepare with us so that inevitably, he’d be ready,” Piron said. “We’re just in a good spot. What started out as making sure that we always had coverage has turned out to be a nice opportunity for our whole program.”

Playing two quarterbacks in a game is nothing new for Piron, who ran a similar offense with the Bulldogs in 2014 and 2020. Piron said that with Vander Luitgaren emerging as another threat at the backfield position alongside Anderson, it puts the Bulldogs in a real good position as they go on to face a tough Downers Grove North team in the Class 7A quarterfinals.

“Sometimes kids have good days and sometimes they have bad days, and until you can get out there on a game day and try to execute and see if the game looks to you, it’s really hard to tell,” Piron said. “So I’m thrilled he’s playing so well. The work effort of both young men that are playing quarterback for us is excellent.”

Special teams help Geneva get back to 6A quarterfinals

There’s no question that Talyn Taylor can do special things with a football in his hands.

It’s why most teams avoid sending a ball his way during kickoffs. The Georgia commit currently has only six on the season, which is tied for the second most with senior Michael Rumoro, who lines up directly in front of sophomore Bennett Konkey (seven returns, leads team) on the opposite side of the field.

But when a kickoff gets directed his way, he’s shown that he can make teams pay. And he did it again against Burlington Central.

In the Class 6A second-round game against the Rockets, Taylor took a kickoff 96 yards to the house, which ultimately turned the tide in the Vikings’ favor in a 42-28 victory to advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight season.

“It’s a game of swings and we got the momentum back,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said.

The Vikings will hope to keep the momentum in their favor against No. 7 Lake Forest, who upset No. 2 Libertyville in the second round after capping off a 98-yard drive with a touchdown in the dying seconds of the game.

St. Francis overcomes Prairie Ridge’s triple-option offense

The triple-option offense is one of the toughest to get a handle on in the game.

And while the start of the game was a struggle, especially with Prairie Ridge surprisingly putting QB Luke Vanderwiel back under center for the first time since Week 6, St. Francis’ defense persisted.

Despite Vanderwiel putting up 135 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, the Spartans managed to keep the triple-option offense in check in the second half, while the offense, led by QB Brady Palmer, put up the points necessary to secure a 30-21 victory.

“It’s hard to emulate an offense like that,” McMillen said. “It’s so fast, so dynamic, so explosive. … Just how they use misdirection and hide the ball makes it very difficult.”

The win marks the Spartans’ third straight season making it to the quarterfinals. St. Francis will also be looking to reach their third straight state semifinal, but will need to take down top-seeded Sycamore, whose defense hasn’t given up more than 20 points since their 35-28 victory in Week 1 against DeKalb.

St. Charles North says farewell to QB Ethan Plumb after loss

While Saturday’s 48-15 loss to Mt. Carmel was a heartbreaker in many ways for fourth-seeded St. Charles North, it couldn’t have hit harder than it did for QB Ethan Plumb.

The senior, who’s been a starter on varsity for each of the last four seasons, officially played his final game in a North Star uniform with the loss. In it, he threw for 94 yards while adding 47 yards on the ground and a rushing score.

And while the loss hit St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak hard, something that was harder to do was watch Plumb walk off the field for the final time.

“He’s the elder statesman and to see him walk off the field is very difficult,” Pomazak said. “He’s like another coach. He’s like a son and I love the kid to death.”

In his final season, Plumb finished with 2,265 passing yards, 504 rushing yards and 37 total touchdowns (28 passing, nine rushing).

While the season didn’t end the way Pomazak wanted it to, he still wanted his 47 seniors to hold their heads high. Not only because they were named DuKane Conference champions for the second time in three seasons, but also because of the moments that they made, from breaking records to securing comeback victories.

“That’s the point of athletics, making those memories that you won’t forget,” Pomazak said. “And this was one of them.”

And while the North Stars will see a majority of their starters return next year for their junior/senior seasons, Pomazak said that the senior’s presence away from the field will surely be missed come 2025.

“This group, what they did off the field was the difference,” Pomazak said. “Their leadership, the way that they took our culture and elevated it was second to none. That’s what’s going to be the hardest thing to replace. It won’t be the Xs and Os, you can’t replace a guy like Plumb, but the leadership that they had away from the field. I’ve never had a group this good.”