Great year to be a Geneva fan

The Year of Geneva continues. And how.

A 33-point win over Batavia in football win was one thing. Now a 4-0 record in basketball?

That's where Geneva sits after the boys and girls teams both won Friday.

"It's great to beat Batavia two times," said Geneva senior Jeremy D'Amico, who sank the game-winning free throws. "I don't think we've done that in a long time."

In boys basketball, it happened four years ago. First-year coach Phil Ralston wasn't at Geneva yet, though judging by his reaction Friday he's glad he's found a home in this long-standing rivalry.

"I'm not sure there's a better atmosphere in the state," Ralston said. "Taking this job, people told me the Geneva-Batavia thing was going to be something unique. I tell you, I'm not sure there is a better atmosphere in the state than when you get this game going. Nice close game like this you could barely hear yourself scream."

Certainly not in the final hectic seconds, when Batavia - despite not scoring in the final 4:51 - had one last chance to win on David Bryant's 3-pointer. It didn't drop, just like Ben Potter's jumper a few seconds earlier.

Batavia got the ball in the hands of their top two scorers for two potential game-winning shots, both times having to settle for jumpers. Bryant did try attacking the basket with a minute remaining only to be called for a charge against Sean Grady.

When Geneva got the ball down 1, the Vikings were able to get D'Amico driving and he was fouled - part of a huge advantage Geneva had at the free-throw line: 15 attempts to Batavia's 1.

It's been that type of year for the Vikings, when everything that could go right against Batavia does. Thanks to the IHSA the Bulldogs still have a chance at the last laugh. It could be a role reversal from last year, when it was the Batavia girls team beating Geneva three times in the regular season only to lose to Geneva in the regional opener.

That's just the opportunity Batavia has against Geneva at the Class 4A Batavia regional.

"We're definitely excited about that since we'll have them home again," Potter said.

"That's the IHSA for you," Ralston said. "We'll play them again and hopefully we'll have a shot at beating them again. Trying to beat a team three times is an extremely difficult feat."

• Props to the Batavia student section, who showed up to the game with a sign that said, "BHS remembers No. 74."

The gesture to John McNeil shows there's more to this rivalry than bad blood and hard feelings, there's much more that matters than wins and losses.

And along those lines, credit to Batavia senior Alex Berg, the starting center on the basketball team and a two-way starter on the football team, who joined Bulldog football teammates Jordan Coffey, Bai Kabba and Ryan Welter showing their respect by attending McNeil's funeral Monday.

"We just thought we had to come out and support, Berg said. "When someone dies, the rivalry doesn't matter. It's not that huge or that important. At all."

Just like last week when Ralston expressed his sympathies, like at the funeral Monday when McNeil's teammates and coaches shared theirs, and now listening to Berg, it is really something how this area comes together to help each other through the worst times.

jlemon@dailyherald.com