Geneva overtakes St. Charles East in 4th quarter

Geneva and St. Charles East traded enough big plays, momentum shifts, comebacks and thrills at Burgess Field Friday night to give their respective fan bases a taste of what they've been missing the last four decades.

It had been over 40 years since Tri-Cities neighbors Geneva and St. Charles had met in a conference game. The Vikings made their Upstate Eight debut a memorable one, scoring the final 20 points for a 30-20 victory in a back-and-forth battle that saw both teams build - and blow - 10-point leads.

With six straight conference championships under its belt, Geneva (1-2, 1-0) got off to a good start at an Upstate Eight title by outscoring the defending champ Saints (0-3, 0-1) 20-0 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings' rally also continued their recent mastery over St. Charles East when it looked like the Saints might finally have Geneva's number.

Connor Quinn scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run with 6:08 remaining. It was set up by a 32-yard completion from Matt Williams to Russ Action down the right sideline.

Williams completed his final 9 passes to finish 11 of 16 for 179 yards and 1 touchdown. Action caught 5 passes for 101 yards as Geneva started moving the ball through the air after the Saints dominated the middle two quarters.

"Their 'D' coordinator (Brian Teresinski) had a great game plan against us, we had to get out and throw," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "We were stymied for several quarters. When teams stack it we have to go to the outside. I was real happy we were able to execute. We've been working real hard all summer on our passing game.

"I'm really proud of the way they did it. Chasing 10 points you could really collapse."

After Quinn's score, the Vikings stopped the Saints on downs, then iced the game on Joe Cella's 50-yard run. Before that burst Geneva had been outgained 165-75 on the ground.

"New conference, we didn't know what to expect," Cella said. "We were real excited, we were going to go play our hearts out. I think everyone did that."

Geneva opened the game with a 67-yard kick return by Grant Hudson that set up Ben Moore's 36-yard field goal. Those were just the start of special teams playing a major impact on the outcome for both teams.

The Saints fumbled the ensuing kickoff, which was recovered by Geneva junior Andy Francis. Williams found tight end Connor Einck all alone for a 16-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead just 4:13 into the game.

The Saints settled down, allowing only one more first down in the first half. Zach Zajicek scored on a 6-yard run on a fourth-down direct snap that cut Geneva's lead to 10-7 at halftime.

The Saints entered the game in a bind starting their third-string quarterback, Jake Mazanke, a converted wide receiver. Coach Mike Fields countered by running Zajicek out of a Wildcat formation much of the game, though Fields didn't call it a Wildcat.

"I don't know what I call it," Fields said. "ZZ Top, Zach Zajicek. Zach is a heck of a ballplayer and we wanted to get the ball in his hands a little more than the past two weeks."

Zajicek finished with a game-high 85 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns while Mazanke also moved the chains completing 6 of his 8 attempts for 50 yards.

"Nice job for Coach Fields," said Wicinski of his former assistant, who made his return to Geneva where he coached 10 years before taking the Saints job last season. "He was behind the eight-ball with some injuries."

St. Charles East took its first lead of the game with 6:31 left in the third quarter on Mike Brown's 1-yard run. That short drive was set up when Geneva took a turn muffing a punt which Saints sophomore Jacob Bruce recovered at the 3.

Geneva followed with another special teams gaffe, a bad snap on a punt that resulted in Mike Caddy tackling punter Drew White for a 17-yard loss and giving the Saints the ball at the Vikings' 17. Three plays later Zajicek again ran the ball into the end zone for a 20-10 Saints lead.

Williams was perfect on an 11-play, 81-yard march that ended on his 1-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter to trim the Saints' lead to 20-17.

St. Charles East was on the move looking to add to its lead when Geneva's defense made the play of the game. The Saints had the Vikings fooled when Zajicek hit a wide-open Andrew Carrano that was going to give St. Charles East first down inside Geneva's 15-yard line. Vikings linebackers Quinn and Tom Frederick hustled from behind to force a fumble that Matt Malecha recovered.

"We always stayed positive on the field and we knew our offense was going to punch it in eventually," Malecha said. "We knew we just needed a couple stops and then we'd get the ball in the end zone and good things were going to happen."

Williams did just that, following his 81-yard drive with an 88-yard march and Quinn's go-ahead score. Williams started by taking the short hitches the Saints were giving him, then when their cornerbacks came up Williams made a perfect deep throw to Acton.

"They finally gave up on that (loose coverage) and we went over the top," Williams said. "We knew we would keep fighting and come back. The defense did a great job getting that fumble recovery. We knew if we got the ball we were going to win."

While the Saints only committed 1 penalty (and Geneva 3), the three Saints turnovers and special teams mistakes on both sides will give both coaches plenty to stress in practice.

"I give them (Geneva) credit, I thought we had them," Fields said. "They never quit. Our young men don't get it yet, they don't know how to finish yet. They did everything they could have done to win this game but we can't have mental breakdowns. We have to protect the ball."

Bruce added a sack to his fumble recovery while Caddy made a pair of tackles for losses to lead the Saints defense. While Fields was pleased to see his offense put 20 points on the board after scoring just 7 combined the first two weeks, the end result isn't going to be easy to take.

"The growing pains are getting a little old and I think it's time for some of these seniors to step up and take it to the next level," Fields said. "This is one that is going to haunt us. I thought physically it was a fun game, it was evenly matched. They made great strides but we have to take it to the next level. We need to regroup. We will."