Scouting Geneva at Elgin

Geneva (1-2, 1-0) at Elgin (2-1, 1-0)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Memorial Field

Last week: Elgin 37, Streamwood 2; Geneva 30, St. Charles East 20

Outlook: Elgin football is on the verge of a rare milestone. The program has won 499 games since its inception in 1897. A win against the visiting Vikings in this Upstate Eight (River) matchup would make Elgin just the 33rd school in Illinois history to reach the 500-win plateau. "The majority of the coaches here, like myself, are Elgin graduates," Maroons coach Dave Bierman said. "We talk about the tradition and talk about the history and it means something to us. Anytime you're fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to experience something historic, it's special. These players can look back someday and say 'I was playing when that happened.'" This game holds additional meaning for Bierman. He'll coach against his good friend, Geneva's Rob Wicinski. The two were teammates and roommates at Northern Illinois University, and Bierman spent two seasons as the offensive line coach for the Vikings in 2003-04 after being let go by DeKalb. "I've always been appreciative to Rob because at that time I was out there a little bit," Bierman said. "This is part of the fun about coaching. I've had the pleasure of coaching against mentors like Jim Hoffman and Dick Stephens and now against a friend like Rob." The Maroons are shooting for their first 3-1 start since 2001, when they made their last playoff appearance. Bierman expects Geneva to run the ball. "A key for us will be stopping the run," he said. "If they have a choice, they'll run it all the time until we prove we can stop it. They'll run the off-tackle play along with traps and mid-lines and keep you honest with bootlegs and play action. We have to put them in 3rd-and-long and make them throw the ball."

A week after it's Upstate Eight Conference River division debut against familiar foe St. Charles East, Geneva coach Rob Wicinski now really feels like he's in a new conference. He doesn't know quite what to expect from Elgin - or for that matter the Maroons' Week 3 opponent Streamwood - who he's seen only on film. "It's like going into a playoff game," Wicinski said. "We don't know what we're going to get until we show up on the playing field." He knows enough about Elgin to watch out for spread offense bomber Jake Meyer, offensive lineman-linebacker Toby Schimel (6-2, 240), receiver Earl Holloway, junior running back Dennis Moore and mainly senior two-way back Jordan Dean, who ran for 2 touchdowns last week against and has 231 yards rushing on the season. "They really fly to the ball," Wicinski said. "We're expecting a very fast defense." Geneva started out fast in taking a 10-0 first-quarter lead over St. Charles East only to see the Saints score 20 straight points. Geneva answered by closing on its own 20-0 run. Headed by quarterback Matt Williams the Vikings blended pass and run to inevitably score 3 rushing touchdowns, and while the bad news is while running back Dylan Nobregas suffered a broken hand, fullback Joe Cella cut loose for 90 yards and a touchdown. This week Geneva gets healthier on the offensive line and, with Andrew Mariotti back, on the defensive line as well. Cella, who has 181 yards on 20 carries, joins Connor Quinn (43 carries, 250 yards) in a backfield that might give Elgin fits in its ancient concrete home. "I'm looking forward to going into that old stadium," Wicinski said.

Next week: St. Charles North (1-2, 0-0) at Geneva, Sept. 24; Elgin at Larkin (2-1, 0-1), Sept. 25.