Scouting Geneva at Morgan Park

Geneva (0-1) at Morgan Park (1-0))

Game time: 7 p.m. Saturday, Gately Stadium, 810 E. 103rd St., Chicago.

Last year: Geneva 31, Morgan Park 20.

Last week: Rock Island 42, Geneva 28; Morgan Park 16, Providence 14.

Outlook: As has been said, Geneva goes from the frying pan to another frying pan. Morgan Park earned headlines like "shocked" and "stunned" with its win over Providence, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A entering the season. Mustangs quarterback Dae'Shaun Hurley, who ran for a reported 82 yards and passed for 96, scored what was the winning touchdown on a 35-yard run. Now the Mustangs, themselves alarmed when Geneva beat them last season, invite the suburbanites to Gately Stadium's carpeted concrete. "They're extremely athletic and fast and big," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said of Morgan Park. Vikings returnees who faced them last season are few and far between, though Connor Quinn ran for 20 yards and caught 2 passes for 31 yards and this year's starting quarterback, Matt Williams, led the Vikings with 47 yards receiving. Last Friday, Williams did a good job managing a game that was closer than the final score indicated, said Wicinski, who looks to get receiver Ben Rogers more involved. Williams scored 2 rushing touchdowns, Quinn 1, and sophomore Austin Nobregas' 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the third time Geneva had tied the score. "I was really pleased with their poise," Wicinski said. After allowing Rock Island 443 yards of offense (all on the ground) and giving up 42 points for the first time since a 42-28 loss to Montini in Week 2 of 2004, that's a starting point for improvement. The good news, Wicinski said, is "when you look at the tape it's all correctable stuff. ... Nobody likes to lose, but it's not a deal breaker."

Next week: St. Charles East (0-1) at Geneva, Sept. 10; Morgan Park at Simeon (1-0), Sept. 11.