Geneva 29, South Elgin 12
Michael Mayszak may look like he's running for his life, but he prefers it that way.
The Geneva senior quarterback tossed three touchdown passes and completed 11 of 21 overall for 233 yards -- mostly while at a full sprint outside of the pocket -- to lead the host Vikings to a convincing 29-12 victory Friday night over nonconference South Elgin.
"I would rather be outside of the pocket because that's where I am more comfortable in some free space and making plays," said Mayszak, in his first year at quarterback after switching from his wideout position of last year.
Mayszak threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Colin McCaffrey in the opening minutes of the second quarter and followed that up with a 46-yard screen pass to Michael Ratay, who was nearly knocked out of bounds near the 20-yard line before spinning away and scampering in for the score.
Geneva opened a 21-0 lead on the second play of the second half when Mayszak found Joe Augustine streaking down the sideline and led him perfectly for a 49-yard touchdown.
"I have a lot of receivers who can make big plays at all times, and I am comfortable throwing to all of them," Mayszak said.
Geneva was never threatened in the game, mainly because the Vikings defense was particularly stingy when South Elgin tried to run the ball, holding the Storm to only 30 yards rushing for the evening.
Storm quarterback Peter Scaffidi kept the Vikings on their toes by launching 39 passes in the game, completing 17 for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
"They have lots of good receivers and they really played a good game," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said of the Storm. "They could have rolled over after their first game (a loss to Marmion) of the season, but they showed a lot of positives and played real hard."
Early in the game, South Elgin ran into trouble in the form of Geneva defensive end Cory Hofstetter and his 6-4, 210-pound frame. Hofstetter knocked down three Scaffidi passes and tipped another that was intercepted by Trevor Hyslop -- all in the first quarter.
"He's just a heck of an athlete with those long arms and I see that in practice all of the time," Wicinski said of Hofstetter's defensive presence. "We're getting tired of playing against him in practice, he is doing so well."
Geneva (2-0) had a scare in the second half when Ratay (15 carries, 79 yards) limped off the field with a leg injury. But reserve running back Sean Grady sparkled in relief, dashing 23 yards for the Vikings' final score while piling up 75 yards in 8 carries. Ratay's injury was not considered serious.
South Elgin's touchdowns came on a 5-yard reception by Jordan Uveges in the third quarter and a nifty 11-yard crossing pattern reception in the end zone by Kevin Davis in the fourth.
South Elgin coach Dale Schabert was proud of how his team rebounded from its poor opening-week performance, but he wants the players hungry for the two-year program's first victory.
"We challenged the kids this week big-time and we had a good week of practice, and I think we gave Geneva our best shot," Schabert said. "We are so tired of any kind of moral victories and we have to put that to rest, as that can only go so far. I am so proud of the kids' effort tonight as it just wasn't the same team from last week and I am very encouraged."
South Elgin (0-2) played the second half without key wide receiver Joshua Smith, who suffered a leg injury while blocking during a kick-off return.