Powerhouse Geneva runs right over Larkin
In a tuneup for next week's IHSA playoffs, Geneva's Parker Woodworth couldn't have looked much better.
The Vikings' senior running back pounded in 4 first-half touchdowns as Geneva rolled to a 50-6 victory over Larkin in Upstate Eight River Division action at Elgin's Memorial Field Friday night.
"We were mentally focused for this one," said Woodworth, who finished with 59 yards on just 7 carries. "(Larkin) hit real hard."
Woodworth's first score came just 2 minutes, 15 seconds into the game on a 2-yard scoring run for Geneva (7-2, 5-1). Larkin (3-6, 2-4) went 3-and-out on its first possession and Ben Rogers' punt return set up the Vikings at the Larkin 27-yard line.
That was the trend all night.
The Vikings' offense was not on the field much, but did extreme damage when it was. It took Geneva just 16 offensive plays to build a 36-0 lead with 7 minutes, 48 seconds left in the first half.
Woodworth added scoring runs of 3, 7 and 9 yards. Junior running back Bobby Hess (7 rushes, 94 yards) added a scoring run of 3 yards in the first quarter. He also sprinted for an 88-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter in retaliation for Larkin's lone score of the game.
"He's run hard all year," Vikings' coach Rob Wicinski said.
"He's running as hard as he ever was. We don't have a bad back up in Hess either."
NIU-bound quarterback Matt Williams threw a 30-yard TD pass to Ben Rogers to put Geneva ahead 43-0.
Williams had 85 yards on the ground on 5 carries and threw for 117 yards.
Trailing by the 43-0 margin at the half and with the clock running, Larkin came out with many new looks in the second half. Starting quarterback Kyle Newquist lined up at receiver, and made a couple of big plays.
The first came after he caught an 8-yard pass from Damon Parham and then quickly pitched the ball to Justin Banks. Banks raced 55 yards down the Larkin sideline for the Royals' lone score of the game.
Newquist and Banks, who also lined up at quarterback in the second half, hooked up 11 times for 94 yards through the air.
"I wanted to have fun with my seniors," Royals' coach Mike Scianna said. "I threw the Wildcat in there."