Wheaton North stuns Geneva with last-second TD for wild 36-35 victory
With senior quarterback Ben Peterson under center, Geneva never feels out of a game. Despite the fact that the Vikings trailed all night Friday, a comeback seemed inevitable.
And that’s exactly what happened.
“My coach put the ball in my hands to make plays happen in the second half and play the way we know we can play,” Peterson said. “It just means the world to me that my coaches and everyone around me has faith in me.”
Peterson finally did get Geneva a lead with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, but Wheaton North staged a furious rally of its own to stun the Vikings 36-35 in a Class 6A second-round game.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Peterson completed 15 of 23 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown to lead Geneva (9-2). The Eastern Michigan recruit added three rushing TDs, all from 2 yards out.
Illinois recruit Bennett Konkey had one more big game up his sleeve before leaving for college with eight catches for 125 yards and a TD. Nelson Wendell ran for 119 yards and a TD.
Sophomore quarterback Grant Neibch, meanwhile, was stellar for Wheaton North (8-3).
Neibch completed 24 of 39 passes for 301 yards and two TDs. His 17-yard TD pass to Johnny Clayton with 1.6 seconds left sealed the win. Mac Murray rushed for 97 yards and a TD.
Geneva, which beat Wheaton North 42-14 on Oct. 9, fell behind 15-0 and never took the lead until the final two minutes of the game. The Falcons scored with four seconds left in the first half to take a 23-14 lead.
One of Peterson’s 2-yard TD runs to open the third quarter cut the deficit to 23-21. Wheaton North responded with a score, but then Wendell followed up with a 3-yard TD run and Konkey ran in the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit to 30-29.
The Vikings had another long drive, but it ended with a blocked field goal with 9:56 left in the fourth. They finally got a big defensive play on the ensuing drive, however.
Alex Abraham picked off Neibch and returned it 34 yards to the Wheaton North 16.
Five plays later, Peterson produced another 2-yard TD run and the Vikings had come all the way back, leading 35-30 with 1:23 to go.
Wheaton North marched 80 yards in 12 plays to win the game and end what Geneva hoped would be a run to the state championship game.