No speed limit in sight

Bus drivers have been brought into a key role this Saturday morning for the Geneva Vikings football team.

Drawn into the huddle, they've been told to take the players nearly 50 miles south on Rt. 47, then about 210 miles south on I-55.

From there they'll drive an additional 7 miles south on I-255 until they approach the State Street exit toward East Saint Louis where they will depart the bus after close to a five-hour drive -- depending on how long their brief stop in Springfield lasts -- and battle the East St. Louis Flyers in a Class 7A quarterfinals contest.

The Flyers don't have a bus on their team like former NFL-standout Jerome Bettis, but they have a couple of racecars in running backs with Courtney Molton and Vincent Arterbridge. They also have quite the roadblock in 6-foot-6, 260-pound senior defensive lineman Brandon Harold. The Vikings will look to keep those three players off the highlight reel.

Geneva (11-0) is aspiring to set a school record for wins in a season, and after last week's balance of a solid running and passing game, they have to feel pretty good about what its offense can bring at this stage of the postseason.

"They've gotten better each week and practice hard at the things we do," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "The offense is playing fairly well and we're just worried if it's going to be enough. We're going to go in there and play the best we can, at the best level we can, and hopefully we have enough pistons under the hood to do some good work."

East St. Louis (10-1) presents a different look for the Vikings in the sense they are more athletic than anyone Geneva has faced this season. Plus, they have some enormous size.

While Harold is the leader on the defensive line, the Flyers also feature 6-foot-1, 240-pound Nicholas Beaver and 6-foot-1, 325-pound senior Jeremy Johnson. Beaver leads the Flyers with 91 tackles.

"They have an edge to them and like to hit and do a lot of it, and you can't say enough about the speed mismatches," Wicinski said. "They've pretty much done whatever they want to each team they've played and they manhandled that Moline team. The mismatches are definitely a concern and if they click on all cylinders it could be a long day.

"We'll see if we can get them out of their comfort zones," he continued. "No one has been able to really move the ball on them so it's going to be a real challenge but we're excited to try to do it."

Wind and weather conditions always can play a factor especially at this point in the season. It would be advantageous for both clubs to have minimal wind and a mild temperature. As long as the Vikings are able to mix the pass and run they should feel like they can show their full assortment of offensive threats.

The No. 1 threat continues to be Michael Ratay, who has been a monster this season with 30 touchdowns scored. He's rushed for 1,593 yards and has just under 250 carries this season.

With an outstanding average 6.5 yards per carry and 144.8 yards per game, and knowing that he can break a long touchdown at virtually any time in the game, he's as dangerous as they come. But can he move the ball against this terrific Flyers defense?

"We haven't seen anyone quite this big, but we have complete faith in getting the job done," Vikings center Eric Strauss said. "Bigger doesn't mean better. It's a little more weight and doesn't move quite so easily. They probably won't move so much early but by the fourth quarter they'll be moving and we've shown that all year."

Last week was especially big for the Vikings because the passing game clicked. Joe Augustine proved to be too much for the St. Charles East on Friday.

Javaughn Tabbs (1 interception) has frequently gotten assigned the opposing team's top receiver, so it's likely that Augustine will try to beat Tabbs. If not, the Flyers feature a speedy and athletic secondary with Terry Hawthorne (3 interceptions) and Tommie Hopkins (55 tackles) attempting to keep offenses out of the end zone.

It's worked very well for the Flyers who have only yielded 116 points (10.5 per game) this season.

If the Flyers overcompensate for Augustine, look for Michael Faught (17 catches, 234 yards), Colin McCaffrey and Jordan Boser (2 of his 4 catches have gone for TDs), among others, to have their numbers called.

Geneva quarterback Mike Mayszak (76-of-163 passing, 1,410 yards) might not put up the flashiest numbers, but most importantly he's won 100 percent of the games he's started at the position this fall. He doesn't make many mistakes and with only 4 interceptions compared to 17 touchdown passes.

His transition from wide receiver to quarterback this season has been very impressive.

"Mayszak is just a great athlete," Strauss said. "The switch was just natural and we have complete faith in him to throw the ball and with Ratay in the backfield."

Defensively the Vikings have answered each test when its been administered. On Saturday, defensive ends Matt Caliendo and Cory Hofsetter, sophomore tackle Frank Boenzi, linebackers Brennan Quinn (115 tackles, 3 sacks), Trevor Hyslop (72 tackles, 4 sacks) and Boser, cornerback Sean Grady, safety Jake Conforti (4 interceptions) and the rest of the Geneva defense will face its biggest challenge of the fall.

In addition to keeping the Flyers grounded, don't be surprised if they look to jar the ball loose at times. The Vikings have 26 takeaways (2.4 per game) this season and two weeks ago Batavia forced four fumbles against the Flyers and nearly pulled off the first round upset before falling 27-21.

"Anytime you can get some turnovers it helps," Boser said. "It shortens the field for you offense and it's nice to know that you're out there and making things possible."

Molton (95 carries, 1,182 yards, 14 TDs) and Arterbridge (114 carries, 975 yards, 15 TDs) present a tremendous combination in the Flyers' backfield with over 2,000 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns. With those kinds of numbers you'd be led to believe that the Flyers aren't much of a passing team, but they've had some great success airing it out, too.

While quarterback Detchauz Wray only completed 3-of-11 passes for 48 yards in last week's victory, he's completed better than half of his passes (90-of-175) and has 1,943 yards and 22 touchdowns. He's only thrown 8 interceptions, but 5 of those 8 have come in the past 4 games.

He has two primary receivers as 92 percent of his passing yards have gone to Kraig Appleton (38 catches) and Jerry Hawthorne (39 catches). The duo has combined for 77 catches, 1,784 yards and 16 touchdowns. Just like in the backfield, the Flyers have a deadly combo in these two receivers.

"We know what they can do and the key thing is to stay disciplined with their speed and not try to do too much," Boser said. "Nobody panics when something goes wrong the first couple of drives. We know what we have to do."

Historically the Flyers have had a great deal of success, although they haven't won a state championship since 1991. Still, in the past 24 years the Flyers have won 5 state championships and outscored opponents 200-20 in the decisive championship game.

The teams have combined for 21 consecutive victories with the Flyers having not lost since a 30-27 decision against Lincoln-Way Central on Aug. 25. The undefeated Vikings haven't dropped a game since last year's Class 6A semifinals loss to Batavia on Nov. 18, 2006. It's obvious that neither team knows what losing feels like.

The Vikings hope to keep it that way.