Vikings, Saints square off; it's about time
The vast majority of residents in this area would have no idea that St. Charles and Geneva football teams actually used to face each other on a regular basis. That's how long it's been since it actually happened.
The last time the St. Charles Saints and Geneva Vikings engaged in a football battle was in 1978 -- at Reid Field in St. Charles.
The next time will be Friday night at Geneva's Burgess Field in a game with far more meaning than any other in what many would consider to be the teams' ancient past when they both played in the Little Seven and then later in early-season nonconference games.
For many, the second round of the Class 7A state playoffs matching 10-0 Geneva against 8-2 St. Charles East will mark the first time these neighbors have met on a gridiron. Going nearly 30 years without facing each other qualifies this rivalry as something from yesteryear. It has been so long, in fact, that records of the teams' previous history together are difficult to pinpoint.
Somebody out there may have some past records of these teams, but it's time to reflect more on the present -- and it's a great time to do so. St. Charles East coach Ted Monken, in his fourth season, and Geneva coach Rob Wicinski, in his ninth season, have traveled a similar path. Both took over programs that had once enjoyed consistent excellence but had fallen on bad times. These coaches grasped that glorious past and somehow raised the bar higher. Neither has been satisfied with a winning season or two. They have established the core values of an entire program in such a manner that "consistent excellence" is once again the norm.
St. Charles won that meeting back in 1978 by a score of 48-22 behind a young quarterback named Randy Wright who would go on to bright collegiate and NFL careers. But Geneva had bragging rights of its own behind quarterback Dave Pease and running back Joe Herrera, who had taken the Vikings to the state semifinals the year before.
With those kinds of matchups, why did these teams stop facing each other? Enrollment growth and the politics of playoff football both played a role. Student population at St. Charles was getting larger than Geneva's, and the Vikings couldn't afford to lose nonconference games and still get playoff nods. Likewise, St. Charles needed nonconference foes in its same general class but also couldn't risk getting knocked off by a smaller school. Making the playoffs was a more difficult task in those days. At the time, it was best for the cross-town rivalry to stop.
But area fans couldn't be more pleased with the prospect of this neighborhood rivalry starting again. Which, by the way, had already been established. Tonight is just a preview of what should be another long chapter in this rivalry's history - Geneva opens its season next year at St. Charles East, and the teams will face each other every other year.