When it comes to playing in close games during the 2025 season, Batavia hasn’t always had the best of luck.

First, it was allowing a game-winning field goal to fall 31-28 against Glenbard West to open the season.

Then, it was a touchdown and two-point conversion in the final 0.9 seconds in the game to drop a 43-42 contest to St. Charles North.

So when the Bulldogs walked off Burgess Field with a 24-21 victory in overtime over Geneva, it was a welcome sigh of relief to be on the winning side of a tight contest.

“Football really is a game of inches,” Bulldogs quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren said. “Those first two losses that we’ve had were close games that could have gone either way. It feels good to be on the winning side for once, but I know that we still have a lot to work on a

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