Geneva rolls over DeKalb
It wasn't the ghost of Michael Ratay, but Michael Santacaterina did an excellent impersonation of last year's star running back for Geneva by turning the mud slick called Burgess Field into his own playground Friday night.
"Michael was always a mudder," Santacaterina said of his former teammate. "It was just something you pick up by watching him cut and keep his balance with those short, choppy steps."
Santacaterina used those short, choppy steps to the tune of four touchdowns and 104 yards rushing in only one half of action as Geneva steamrolled visiting DeKalb 55-0 in Western Sun Conference action.
"It was kind of easy, because the defense is kind of flying and when you made one cut, they were just sliding," Santacaterina added about what the nonstop rain did to the playing field. "But the offensive line was great tonight, you could have driven a truck through those holes."
The Vikings followed the lead of that offensive line to the tune of 341 yards rushing and eight rushing touchdowns on a night when the passing game was nonexistent for both teams.
"With conditions like this, the game was definitely on the offensive line's shoulders," said Justin Craig, who joined fellow offensive linemen Dan Carlson, Ben Humbert, Brandon Posek, Brett Willman and Matt Springhorn in demolishing DeKalb's defensive front.
"In the pregame, it was tough to even get a snap completed, so we knew it was going to have to be a running game," Craig said. "And the defense set us up perfectly all night."
The defense set the stage when middle linebacker Bret Shannon recovered a DeKalb fumble on the first series of the game, setting up the first of Santacaterina's touchdowns on a 3-yard run.
The Vikings took advantage of a poor punt to set up another quick score, with Santacaterina again busting over from 3 yards out.
Geneva (6-0, 4-0) left no doubt it was going to ring up its 24th straight regular season victory and celebrate homecoming at the same time by exploding for 28 points in the second quarter and a 42-0 halftime lead.
With Santacaterina scoring two more touchdowns, quarterback Brandon Beitzel notching a 6-yard scoring run and Jay Graffagna capping the first half scoring with a 5-yard touchdown scamper, it appeared Geneva was playing on dry turf, rather than a mud swamp.
DeKalb (1-5, 0-4), meanwhile, struggled throughout, fumbling the ball six times and losing four of those, and managing only three first downs and 64 yards rushing for the night.
"I felt kind of bad at halftime because I called a timeout to get that last score (and initiate a running clock because of the 40-point lead), but I felt if we could get that score, then I could put everyone (substitutes) in the game in the second half," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said.
"The electricity at halftime was just great, with the other kids knowing they were going to get in the game."
The substitutes took advantage of their time on the field, particularly Dylan Nobregas, who went around right end in the waning seconds of the third quarter and looked as if he was shot from a cannon in racing 64 yards for a touchdown.
Grant Hudson gained 51 yards in eight carries in the second half, including the game's final score with a 4-yard touchdown run.
"The defense getting us the ball right away got us out of the chute fast," Wicinski said. "I know Glenbard South did the same thing to DeKalb last week, but couldn't finish them off, so I was really proud of my guys for staying consistent and finishing the game."