Geneva’s Nelson Wendell, fully healthy and ‘ecstatic right now,’ carves path to rout of St. Charles North
After missing the majority of last year due to an injury, Geneva’s Nelson Wendell has been an easy player for his teammates to root for during the early stages of this football season.
Last fall, he went down in Week 4 and could only watch as the Vikings failed to make the playoffs. Now healthy and productive, the senior running back/linebacker has been leading the way.
“It’s been amazing,” Wendell said with a grin. “I’m glad to be out there with the boys again.
“I’m ecstatic right now.”
Wendell set the tone Friday night for Geneva, running for 95 yards and two touchdowns in a stunning 49-17 DuKane Conference victory over visiting St. Charles North.
On top of that, Wendell added an interception that he returned 20 yards to set up another TD for the Vikings (2-1, 1-0). All but one of Wendell’s carries came during the first half.
That paved the way for Geneva’s aerial assault to get going. As has been the case all season, Eastern Michigan recruit Ben Peterson and Illinois commit Bennett Konkey lit up the scoreboard.
Peterson completed 18 of 21 passes for 341 yards and five TDs. Konkey caught six passes for 179 yards and two TDs. David Austin, Luke Ignoffo and Lincoln Mercado also caught TD passes.
Wendell and Peterson have been friends since they were kids. With the firepower Geneva has in the passing game, getting Wendell back to pound defenses has opened up things even more.
“Having him put his head down and get 10 yards a pop, that makes all of us want to play better just because of how hard he’s playing,” Peterson said. “I think he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around. He inspires everyone to be better.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team.”
St. Charles North (2-1, 0-1) passed for only 55 yards but did find holes on the ground. Tommy Vendl had nine carries for 129 yards, including a 71-yard TD. Dashel Von Qualen added 14 carries for 88 yards and a TD.
Wendell capped the first drive with a 3-yard TD run for Geneva, which scored on every drive but the final one before the game was called due to lightning with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter.
After Mercado caught a 2-yard TD pass from Peterson, Wendell burst through for a 15-yard TD and a 21-3 lead. Two plays later, Wendell delivered his interception. That set up a 9-yard TD pass to Ignoffo on fourth-and-9 on the last play of the first half to push the lead to 28-3.
“The best way to describe Nathan Wendell is he’s a football player,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. “He’s a tough kid. He practices hard. He plays hard.
“He does everything right that you want from a football player. We just couldn’t be happier to have him back out here. Having a game like this, that’s great.”
Thorgesen knows everything Wendell went through last season. A five-month recovery from the foot injury wiped out the rest of his football season, forced him to miss the entire basketball season and took him a while to shake off the rust on the baseball field.
“Not playing for him was really hard on the kid, hard on us,” Thorgesen said. “To be able to come out here the first three weeks and have the start of the season he has just means the world.
“It’s really cool to see.”
Vendl’s 71-yard TD run came on the first play of the third quarter, but that’s the closest the North Stars would get the rest of the night at a 28-10 deficit.
Wendell called the win a “statement.”
“They’re up there with Batavia, in my opinion,” Wendell said. “This feels really good.”
And he was just glad to be in the middle of it.
“It’s been really rewarding for me the past three weeks,” Wendell said. “It’s been fun.”