Junior quarterback Bodi Anderson knew he had a huge opportunity ahead of him for Batavia.
It was all there with the chance to take over for Ryan Boe, who’s now at Northwestern. Offseason labrum surgery on his throwing shoulder, however, made Anderson question everything.
“I did have to bring myself up at some points,” Anderson said. “I was like, ‘I don’t really know if I want to be doing this anymore.’ I just really thought about the game, and the love came back.”
The Bulldogs are happy about that. Anderson started throwing again in May, and Friday night, he had a breakout performance for Batavia in a dominant 42-14 nonconference win over South Elgin.
Anderson completed 10 of 15 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half. Isaiah Brown, who had four catches for 95 yards, hauled in two TD passes of 57 and 12 yards for Batavia (2-0). Nathan Whitwell ran for 114 yards on only seven carries, with TD runs of 61 and 34 yards.
South Elgin (0-2) didn’t score until the second half, getting on the board with an 18-yard TD pass from Carter McDonald to Ishmael George. Darrion Thurman later added a 1-yard TD run.
Whitwell drew the attention with a huge game last week against Glenbard West. The focus then this week for the Bulldogs was to get things going in the passing game.
After a sluggish start on the first two drives, Anderson got cooking Friday night.
“He just needs to get rhythm, get used to guys,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “We’ve had aches and pains, so we haven’t had a good chance to get everybody together all the time.
“We’re hoping that happens and we can get it going.”
With 4:41 left in the first quarter, Anderson got the Bulldogs going, lofting a deep pass to Brown for a 57-yard TD. The Bulldogs’ next drive ended with a 15-yard TD pass to 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive lineman/running back Gavin Pecor.
Anderson threw his third TD, a 12-yarder to Brown, with 1:08 left in the first half to make it 42-0. Brett Berggren added a 62-yard TD on a punt return.
“I’ve always trusted Bodi,” Brown said. “For him to take that role of Boe, how big it was, he’s done a really good job. I’m really proud of that kid, especially being young and having to fill in big shoes.
“I’m just really proud of him, and he did a really good job (Friday).”
While Anderson saw some varsity time backing up Boe, he got a clearer picture of what to expect in the season opener at Glenbard West.
“For sure that was a learning point for me,” Anderson said. “I got hit a little bit, made some wrong reads, but I felt like I grew a lot from that week.
“This game was great. It was a ton of fun. I got to connect with a ton of my receivers.”
Anderson knew what the expectations were going to be for him following in the footsteps of a talented player and leader in Boe, and he leaned into it.
“I knew I had big shoes to fill and I knew it was going to be a ton of pressure,” Anderson said.
Piron said he wanted to see some competition for the role, but once Anderson proved he was healthy, the job was his to keep.
“He’s just really getting clicking,” Piron said. “We’re excited for that. I think he will show eventually what he can do with his feet, too. He’s a very fast kid. He’s a nice runner, really heady about the game of football.
“The playing time is going to help.”
That’s what Anderson is excited to show with the start of DuKane Conference play next week against Lake Park.
“We’re just getting started, honestly,” Anderson said.
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
