Geneva rolls over Larkin
Geneva got back on the winning track Friday night in its final tuneup before the postseason with a 41-27 Upstate Eight River road win against Larkin at a rain-soaked Memorial Field in Elgin. Geneva took care of its business early, building a 41-0 lead by halftime before the Royals made things interesting in the second half.
Justin Taormina ran for 227 yards on 20 carries and scored 3 touchdowns for the Vikings.
Geneva (8-1, 5-1), which suffered its only loss of the season last week to arch rival Batavia, is headed to the playoffs for the third straight season and the 11th time in the last 12 years.
"It was good to get another win under us before the playoffs," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "We were a little worried about a hangover from the loss last week, but I thought we handled it pretty well. Any time you can head into the playoffs 8-1 you have to feel pretty good."
It started raining steadily almost an hour before the game and continued all the way through the first half. Taormina didn't seem to mind. He accounted for 83 of the Vikings 91 yards on their first drive of the game. He finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown run.
"I love running in the mud," Taormina said. "And I have to give credit to my offensive line. They did a great job of opening some holes. We just wanted to get in and out of here with a win and get ready for the playoffs. We feel confident."
The Vikings led just 7-0 after one quarter, but exploded for 5 touchdowns in the second quarter. Taormina capped a 49-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0. He then scored on a 64-yard run on the Vikings' next possession.
Donny Friedel added touchdown runs of 42 and 36 yards before the half. The Vikings also scored on a block punt.
"We would have liked to do more things on offense," Wicinski said. "But it was tough to throw the ball in these conditions and we were having a difficult time getting our footing with some of our run blocking schemes. So, we just went with some base blocking to get our feet underneath us and that worked pretty well."
After managing just one first down and completing just one pass in the first half the Royals were able to end the season with an exciting second half despite facing a slaughter rule running clock.
Larkin quarterback David Hibbler connected with his favorite target AJ Hunter on 3 big pass plays that totaled 118 yards. The first was a 53-yard bomb for the Royals' first score. On its next possession Larkin drove 85 yards on 11 plays ending with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Hibbler to Hunter. The duo connected again later on a 47-yard pass play that set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Chevelle Clements.
The Royals (1-8, 1-5) finished off their scoring in exciting fashion when defensive lineman Kordell Thomas ripped the ball out of the hands of Geneva quarterback Kyle Evert at midfield on a running play, and huffed and puffed his way down the sideline for a touchdown as the Larkin bench exploded with cheers.
"The second quarter was a disaster for us," Larkin coach Dragon Teonic said. "But I'm just glad we were able to finish strong. That second half was a lot of fun. We showed a lot of heart."