Tri-Cities Border War

More than one-third of a mile.

That's how much Geneva's Michael Ratay and St. Charles East's Wes Allen combined to rush for in their respective opening round games in the Class 7A playoffs last Friday.

Tonight it's not likely that either back will enjoy as much success, not with two defenses that have made it a priority to stop the run this season. Then again, don't count it out either as the offensive lines for both teams have been phenomenal this season, creating opportunities for Ratay and Allen to put on firework shows with their athleticism.

Stopping each other's top running back will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, key to tonight's highly anticipated Class 7A second round game between the Saints and Vikings.

Just seeing each other on opposite sidelines has been a longtime coming. The teams haven't faced each other since 1978, back when disco and the Bee Gees were popular. Now, nearly 30 years later, both teams will be aiming to keep "Stayin' Alive" in the 7A playoffs.

"I can't think of the bar getting any higher," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "We're so excited and playing now (the teams will also battle each other in 2008 nonconference) is a pleasant surprise and hopefully it turns into a healthy rivalry."

St. Charles East (8-2) has repeatedly answered the call and come up with colossal defensive efforts against some outstanding running backs this season.

Waubonsie Valley's Kenny Harringson? Check.

Neuqua Valley's Anton Wilkins? Check.

Granite City's Kenny Stanley? Check.

Now what about Ratay?

"He's unbelievable," St. Charles East coach Ted Monken said. "He's can take it inside and outside and we're going to have our work cut out stopping him. We've faced some good backs but this one is pretty special and they're 10-0 and a lot of it is because of him."

Gang tackling and avoiding one-on-one situations will be imperative to the Saints stopping Ratay.

"We have to have more than one (player) at the point of attack," Monken said. "If not he's going to break tackles and go."

Ratay is averaging 6.7 yards per carry while collecting 1,461 yards. What's even more imposing is his scoring output. He's rushed for 24 touchdowns and caught 3 touchdown passes. While a sport like basketball utilizes the points per game statistic more than football, it's absurd when you realize that Ratay is averaging 16.2 points per game.

While he's certainly gifted with incredible athleticism, he also has a talented offensive line paving the way for him with tackles Anthony Miller and Taylor Reed, guards Bryce Biel, John McNeil and Greg Gregory and center Eric Strauss.

"It's been an exciting ride and we've had our fun seeing Ratay with so many yards," Miller said. "We feel like we're doing our job right but we still have a ways to go. I'm sure this will be a good proving ground for us and really test our potential."

Geneva (10-0) hasn't faced a defense the caliber of the Saints this season but that's not to say that it hasn't faced some very good defenses. Both Batavia and Rochelle gave the Vikings some troubles.

"We know they have a good defensive line and play very emotionally up front," Reed said. "The defensive ends are quick, they have good size and they're going to be one of the best we've played so far. We have to stay low and fire up to the ball."

While stopping Ratay will give the Saints a good chance of winning, he's not the only one they have to stop. Quarterback Mike Mayszak has completed less than 50 percent of his passes, but he's only thrown 4 interceptions compared to 15 touchdowns. He's thrown for over 1,200 yards and has some nice weapons in wide receivers Joe Augustine (31 catches, 622 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Michael Faught (16 catches, 220 yards) as well as tight end Colin McCaffrey, Jordan Boser and Ratay.

"Everything is predicated around the rush and if they can stop that then more power to them," Wicinski said. "Our wideouts are pretty quick and there's the opportunity to throw deep and get Ratay on the perimeter."

The Saints only yielded 6 points last week and have shut out three opponents. They've been extremely tough to run against and it'll be interesting to see if they can continue that trend by limiting Ratay and the Vikings offense from consistently moving the chains. Defensive tackle Dave Mashal and linebacker Pat Friel were stellar again last week and are two of the leaders for the Saints.

Allen is coming off a season-best performance in which he rushed for 295 yards. He also scored 3 touchdowns and has rushed for 16 touchdowns and 1,321 yards this fall and well over 2,000 yards in the last two seasons. Like Ratay, and unfortunately for the Western Sun and Upstate Eight Conferences, he'll be back next season.

The Vikings aren't thinking of next season though, their focus is to find a way to contain Allen.

"We know he's a quick back with a lot of speed that runs in between the tackles," Vikings defense end Matt Caliendo said. "We know we have do a good job on him this week."

The philosophy is simple and it's one the Vikings have followed all season. They strive to keep their composure, fly to the ball and play fundamentally sound.

"We've tried to stay calm all season," Caliendo said. "First downs but not touchdowns and that's really worked well for us and we practice it everyday and then go out and do it on Friday night."

While Brennan Quinn leads the Vikings with 108 tackles, it's been a total team effort all season by the defense. More significant than the number of tackles by Quinn is the No. 39. That's the combined number of interceptions, fumble recoveries and sacks attained by the Vikings defense. Taking the ball away from opponents as well as burying teams with sacks will be something the Vikings will try to do again this evening.

"We've stressed that from day one," Wicinski said. "We practice doing that in practice but you have to have a little bit of luck too and prepare yourselves to protect it. I think you see a mirror-image of teams here and I think (the winner) will be the team that breathes easier first and it'll be momentum more than turnovers."

The Saints have one of the top receivers in the area in Matt Hammer (59 catches, 707 yards, 5 touchdowns) so look for quarterback Sam Gunther (115-of-201, 1,301 yards) to mix things up at times. Chris Caci only had 3 carries last week but has 418 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns this season and has been a nice complement to Allen in the backfield.

The Saints have been tested a bit more than Geneva in close contests, but the Vikings have won their share of close games against Batavia (14-12), Yorkville (27-24) and Rochelle (24-15). One constant for the Vikings has been the fourth quarter. They haven't begun the final 12 minutes trailing this season, although they were in a scoreless tie after three quarters against Glenbard South.

"We really try to emphasize that it's four quarters," Wicinski said. "It doesn't matter at the end of second or third (quarter) as long as you can walk away in the end by at least one point and the mentality of doing whatever it takes."

The winner will play either East St. Louis or Moline. While the loser will be disappointed, that team has nothing to be ashamed of after winning a conference title and playing with the eyes of the Tri-Cities on it this evening.

"It's exciting for the players, the students and the fans, and so many of the students, not just the football players, know each other," Monken said. "This sport gets bashed by some and I think it's one of the best because of what it teaches these kids and what they take out of it is a plus."

The thousands of fans who attend tonight would likely agree.