FINAL: In a Great Game, Vikings Bow Out 35-32 at Lake Zurich

On a beautiful fall day, in front of a buzzing crowd dressed in blue and white on both sides of the field, the Geneva Vikings fought, scapped and fell just short, ending the 2011 season with a 35-32 loss that was a victory in every category except the final score.

"It hurts, I know, but there's more to this game than wins and losses, guys," coach Rob Wicinski told his team after the game. "We've been through some adversity, but we've come through it and had two great weeks of practice, and in the end, we learned how to have fun again. I'm proud of you."

The adversity had come after the Homecoming weekend, when at least two players were cited for underage drinking. The Vikings lost the following week's game at South Elgin but came back with a blowout win last week. They played spectacularly at times and with heart Saturday at Lake Zurich.

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In the second half, if time of possession were the deciding factor, Geneva would have won going away. The Vikings took the second-half kickoff and marched from their own 20 to the Bears 9-yard line. But two flags on the same play—illegal motion and intentional grounding—forced the Vikings to settle for a Matt Williams field goal.

They led 24-21 at that point and had eaten up more than nine minutes of the third-quarter clock.

But on the next series, Lake Zurich converted a third down, then scored on a 49-yard run by Mike Shield. On the next series, the Bears recoverd a Geneva fumble and scored again on a 15-yard run by quarterback Zach Till.

In two minutes, the Bears had done all the damage they needed, taking a 35-24 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Vikings made a great defensive stop, then drove from their own 47 to the Bears' 17 before ending the drive with an interception.

Geneva stopped the Bears' relentless running attack again, then scored quickly with big pass plays from Matt Williams to seniors Ben Rogers and Tyler Hickey and one to junior Bobby Hess. Parker Woodworth bowled in from a yard, then Williams hit Kevin Curtin for the 2-point conversion. It was 35-32 with 2:32 left.

Geneva tried an onside kick, but Lake Zurich recovered. The Vikings defense held for three downs. On fourth down with less than a yard to go, Lake Zurich went for it, made the first down, and the game was over.

Geneva finishes the season 7-3.

Score by quarter

• Geneva: 14-7-3-8—32
• Lake Zurich: 7-14-14-0—35

Rushing

• #6  Parker Woodworth—65 yards, 19 carries, 2 TDs
• #12  Matt Williams— 11 yards, 11 carries, 1 TD
• #32 Bobby Hess— 45 yards, 11 carries
• #33  Ben Herrera — 15 yards, 2 carries

Passing

• #12  Matt Williams — 13-of-19 for 227 yards, 1 INT

Receiving

• #7 Ben Rogers —9 catches, 140 yards
• #25 Tyler Hickey — 2 catches, 53 yards
• #32 Hess — 1 catch, 14 yards
• #88 Connor Einck — 1 catch, 10 yards 

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