Coaching matchup yields mixed emotions

Media members are always a little anxious on Friday nights during football season, especially the first one. Tight deadlines, 30-minute halftime shows, too many incomplete passes - any and all of those make us feel about the same as a fumble at the goal line to a coach.

So when the game ends and we need to get quotes and get our stories filed, we might not be the most patient people in the world. And most times it's not too bad, just wait a few minutes for the coaches to finish talking to their teams.

Except when it came trying to talk to St. Charles East coach Mike Fields after his Saints lost 13-6 to Geneva Friday night.

We had to get in line.

Behind all those well wishers - not from his team. From the one he just lost to.

Former players. Former coaches. When it came time to asking coach Fields a question, you had to be prepared for a few interruptions - all from the Geneva side wishing their former sophomore coach the best.

"It's always good to play your old coach like that," Geneva senior safety Michael Santacaterina said. "I think it's the start of a rivalry maybe. It was just fun to play against Coach Fields. It was good to see him, we miss him."

Fields said he had mixed emotions about his first game as Saints head coach, which came against the school he spent the last 10 years at and a team he's going to see now year in and year out in the Upstate Eight.

"Bittersweet," Fields said. "I wish them nothing but the best. I wish Rob and the whole program nothing but success. I don't think that's an issue for them, looks like they are in good shape. I've got to focus on my boys and my team. That's where my heart is right now. It was a great experience, I will remember it always. I look forward to them joining the Upstate Eight and we can have some more battles."

For a half it didn't look like it would be much of a battle. The Saints trailed 13-0, managing just 23 yards of offense and 3 first downs.

But St. Charles East responded in the second half, first with Matthew Payne bouncing off tacklers on a 25-yard touchdown run, then with a defense that held Geneva to just 3 first downs and gave the Saints to tie the game on the last drive.

Frank Boenzi, Brett Shannon and Santacaterina certainly give Geneva an anchor to its defense from the line to the linebackers to the secondary, but the trio from St. Charles East of lineman Jonathan Voytilla, linebacker Philip Bucaro and cornerback Tyler Nutting won't take a back seat to many teams.

With Fields running basically the same schemes as Geneva, it didn't make it a fun night for at least one person. That would be Geneva coach Rob Wicinski.

"It was a difficult game for me personally," Wicinski said. "I almost had too much information about the other team. It was the offense we run and pretty much the defense and I still couldn't do much with it. "

It all made for an entertaining - if not perfectly played - opener, one that came down to the final drive with the outcome in doubt.

Even an impatient sports writer doesn't mind waiting to see that.

jlemon@dailyherald.com