By: Lucas Vargas
Batavia, NY- The Batavia Blue Devils hosted the Monroe Red Jackets in a highly anticipated rematch of the Section V Class B final which came down the wire. This time around the Red Jackets did not let the game get to the final whistle dominating the Blue Devils 40-0.
This is the first time the Blue Devils have been shut out in the last 10 years. Monroe came out firing on the second drive as Khaya Moses threw a 25-yard touchdown to Messiah Hampton to open up the scoring for the Red Jackets.
The Batavia defense held strong though picking off Moses at the start of the quarter. But the offensive struggles continued as the Blue Devils racked up numerous penalties pushing them back on seemingly every drive. The Batavia defense could only bend for so long with Monroe taking the top off of the Blue Devils' defense for a second time this time to Landon McKnight and scoring the two-point conversion.
After intermission, the Red Jackets came out firing with their first touchdown on a scoop and score by Robert Arnold which busted the game wide open. The Red Jackets defense mauled the Blue Devils taking over the game with one of the highlights coming from a Jahcure Maxam strip sack. That was followed up by a McKnight 65-yard touchdown with a two-point conversion making the score 32-0.
Dominating on all three phases of the game Monroe's special teams made it easier for their offense to put points on the board and with a touchdown early in the fourth that put a bow on what was an absolutely masterful second-half performance from Monroe.
"Our guys are hurting right now and I'm hoping that they're going to be able to rebound and see this and see the light here," Batavia Head Coach Alex Veltz said.
Next week is homecoming for the Blue Devils as they look to bounce back against Vertus. The Red Jackets will look to ride their momentum into next week against Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton.
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