Geneva runs wild, blasts Yorkville by 35
Michael Ratay didn't know it was supposed to rain. The fact that it rained throughout Friday's Western Sun Conference opener didn't matter.
The senior running back rushed for 269 yards and 5 touchdowns - all in the first half-and Geneva held Yorkville to just 2 first downs and 26 yards of total offense in a 41-6 victory.
"I didn't even know it was going to rain tonight but the coaches said there might be a little rain," Ratay said. "As a team we did great. We came out strong. One series we had some problems, but we fixed it and came out pounding."
That pounding began on the first play of Geneva's second drive as Ratay blasted his way through the Yorkville defense for a 91-yard touchdown run.
It was the first run of many in which the Geneva offensive line paved the way for Ratay.
"I've been there without any water and we just had the size on them and it's tough," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "You just got of kind of cut and hold your own and just keep fighting."
Ratay added a 1-yard touchdown late in the opening quarter and then scampered in from 6 yards out after Jacob Landau recovered a fumbled punt to give the Vikings a 20-0 advantage early in the second quarter.
His final two scores of the contest, his 12th and 13th on the season, came on a 2-yard run and then a nifty 31-yard run in which he bamboozled a few Yorkville defenders and tossed another's tackle attempt off him like a parking ticket.
Meanwhile, the Vikings defense simply wouldn't budge, limiting the Foxes to negative 7 yards of offense in the first half.
"We were just doing what we do in practice," Geneva defensive lineman Frank Boenzi said.
Boenzi concluded the Vikings scoring, which also instituted the running clock, on the first play of the second half when he recovered a fumble and carried his 290-pound frame 20 yards into the end zone.
It was the second consecutive week that the Geneva defense scored.
Geneva (3-0) would have had its first shutout of the season but the Vikings fumbled the ball away with less than 2 minutes remaining. The Foxes finally took advantage of one of the three fumbles by the Vikings when Tyler Probst scored from 32 yards out with 50 ticks remaining.
"It worked out real well here tonight," Wicinski said. "It was tough game here after St. Charles East and winning keeps the focus on what we need to do and the first conference game always helps with our goals."