Geneva looks like a top-ranked team in DuKane Conference victory against Lake Park

The scoreboard may have read 41-15 as Geneva claimed victory over Lake Park on Friday night in Roselle, but the biggest statement of the week came on Thursday.

Geneva was voted the top team in the latest Class 6A Illinois Media Poll, as perennial power and previous No. 1 East St. Louis shifted into 7A.

With that target on their backs, coach Boone Thorgesen’s players went on the road and took the best shot the Lancers had in a DuKane Conference slugfest.

“The poll, it's great for the kids' recognition,” Thorgesen said. “We’re just taking one game at a time.”

The Geneva offense went to their stars to make it happen.

Eastern Michigan-bound Ben Peterson found wideout Bennett Konkey on a second-quarter touchdown that pushed the Illinois commit over the 1,000-all-purpose-yard mark to make it 14-9.

Then, after trailing 15-14 at the half, running back Nelson Wendell and Peterson both pounded their way into the end zone to put the game away in the second half.

While Konkey and the offense were busy racing to milestones, for Thorgesen himself, the newly minted No. 1 ranking heightens the stakes of a season in which he could stand face-to-face with a personal history of close calls at glory.

Thorgesen comes from a legendary football family. He was just a boy roaming the sidelines with his brother as their father claimed back-to-back undefeated state titles at Kaneland in 1997 and 1998.

Family patriarch Joe Thorgesen was inducted into the football coaches hall of fame in 2006. His eldest son, Mike Thorgesen, has been head coach at Kaneland since 2023.

Boone Thorgesen was eventually promoted from water boy to quarterback at Kaneland and helped lead the program to 11 wins in 2006. It was his father’s final season, and it ended in a 5A semifinals loss to Marian Central.

After a collegiate career as a defensive back at Northern Illinois, the youngest Thorgesen was eventually named head coach at Geneva ahead of the 2021 season.

He led them to a state runner-up finish in 2024, falling to East St. Louis.

“Hopefully let's come out with a dub this time,” said Konkey, a sophomore on that team.

It was the third time in their 106 year history that the Vikings took second in state. They originally played for the title in 1975. They also dropped the state finals to East St. Louis in 2008.

With the Flyers out of the picture, this year’s senior class is packed with playmakers that have the potential to make history in Geneva.

“Now that East St. Louis has moved out, it (makes) it a little bit easier to 6A, honestly,” Konkey added. “I'm really excited to see what we can do this year in playoffs and see if we can get the first-ever state championship in Geneva history.”

They proved it again against the Lancers tonight, as they remained unbeaten in DuKane play. Their next chance to flash that potential will come in Week 6 when they face rival Batavia.