Batavia, Geneva raising money for tornado victims
When the Batavia girls basketball team traveled down to Morton last weekend, they drove through Washington and saw the damage left behind by the recent tornado.
The experience was so powerful to coach Kevin Jensen and his team that they have decided to take monetary donations during Friday’s girls/boys doubleheader at home against Geneva.
Jensen sent out an email this week about why the team decided to have the fundraiser.
“There are no words that can describe what we saw,” Jensen wrote. “I am not afraid to admit that I was unable to hold back tears as we saw what was left of a community ripped apart. I have yet to see a picture or video that comes close to representing what we saw that day. It was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. It reminded us all that we have so many reasons to be thankful.
“At the request of our team, we will be taking monetary donations. All proceeds will go to the relief fund set up by the Washington Community Bank. I am hoping that the generosity of our two communities will come through in a big way. I am so lucky and so thankful to be part of the Batavia community, and I think we have a chance to do something very meaningful for a community in need.”
Jensen also included comments from his two senior captains, Erin Bayram and Liza Fruendt.
“Driving through Washington didn’t feel real,” Bayram said. “I never thought something like that could actually happen until I saw it with my own eyes. It was extremely emotional and I instantly knew we needed to do something to show our support to the town.”
“The sight that we saw in Washington is something I will never forget, and it touched my heart beyond anything that words can explain,” Fruendt said. “Every day is a new gift, and our hearts and prayers go out to the people in Washington. There is so much to be thankful for.”
Batavia comes into a 3-1 record into the matchup after going 2-1 at the Morton tournament, and Geneva is 4-1 following an overtime victory over South Elgin this week.
Boys basketball: Following the girls game, Batavia’s boys team will put its 2-1 record on the line against the Geneva boys at 4-1.
The Bulldogs won two of three last weekend — with every game going to overtime — despite missing Micah Coffey and Tucker Knox to football. Bulldogs coach Jim Nazos took a page from Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau who has fielded plenty of short-handed lineups the past two years.
“Tom Thibodeau says this ... there’s enough out there to win,” Nazos said when asked about missing two starters.
Kaneland senior point guard Drew David, who prevented Batavia from going 3-0 last weekend with a last-second 3-pointer to force overtime in a game the Knights eventually won 81-74, can relate to making the transition from football to basketball.
The Knights’ quarterback the past three years on a team used to making long stays in the postseason, David knows what the Batavia football players are going through.
“Only having a couple practices before your first game is something I’m used to,” David said. “It’s tough. The speed of the varsity game is a lot different going from sport to sport.”
Coffey said following the football team’s 34-14 win over Richards in the Class 6A state championship game Saturday that he would make his basketball debut against Geneva Friday.
His brother Canaan, a sophomore on the Batavia basketball team, made his own memorable varsity debut with seven 3-pointers and 26 points against Kaneland last week.
It was quite a shootout with another sophomore, the Knights’ Dylan Vaca, who played AAU basketball with the Illinois Panthers with Canaan Coffey. Vaca scored 19 points in the win over Batavia and 21 points in the Knights’ victory over St. Francis three days later.
“We’ve been friends since sixth grade,” Vaca said of Canaan Coffey. “It’s always been a good game going against him. He was shooting that ball really well. He’s a very good shooter, he has range, he’s a good player.”