Sports
FINAL: South Elgin's Big Plays Shock Vikings 36-21
Storm blows Geneva away with a Upstate Eight crossover victory at South Elgin.
When the third quarter started, I realized I probably should have saved that "perfect Storm" lead for the second half.
The South Elgin Storm did everything right, Geneva's passing attack was almost neutralized by good defense and a gale-force wind, and the Storm took revenge for last season's loss at Geneva with a breezy 36-21 victory at the new South Elgin Stadium.
"They played well, you have to give them credit," coach Rob Wicinski said. "We struggled. We stuggled defensively, you know, we struggled on both sides of the ball."
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In the third quarter, South Elgin's Adolfo Pacheco took the first handoff from scrimmage 95 yards, and the Vikings trailed for the first time since the Batavia game, 21-14.
On the seventh play of the ensuing drive, a Matt Williams pass was intercepted. Six plays later, the Storm's Geno Passarreli walked in from 14 yards out.
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Everything was going South Elgin's way. On the ensuing point-after attempt, the snap was bobbled, but the kicker ran it in off the left side for a 29-14 Storm lead.
Willliams had a little magic left, however. Facing third and 9 from the 43, he rolled left, appeared to be sacked but lofted a pass to Tyler Hickey for a 28-yard first down. Bobby Hess scored from the 15-yard line, and it was 29-21 with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
Both sides traded possessions, as the clock ticked away. In the fourth quarter, South Elgin scored again on a 2-yard Pacheco plunge, making it 36-21 with 4:48 left.
Williams was intercepted by Pacheco, but the Storm missed a field goal with 4:07 remaining.
Geneva's last-ditch drive—consisting mostly of Williams rollouts and long bombs that fell short—was foiled by the wind and the Storm.
The Vikings fall to 6-2 on the season.
"It goes back to the basics," Wicinski said. "You don't block, you don't tackle, you don't win. Hopefully, that's fixable. We'll see what the rest of the story is, from the head on up, we'll see if that's fixable, too."
Score by quarter
- Geneva: 14-0-7-0—21
- South Elgin: 7-7-15-7—36
Rushing
- #6 Parker Woodworth—95 yards, 21 carries, 1 TD
- #12 Matt Williams— 10 yards, 7 carries, 1 TD
- #32 Bobby Hess— 47 yards, 6 carries, 1TD
- #38 Dan Berendt — 65 yards, 3 carries
- #44 Michael DuVair — 13 yards, 3 carries
Passing
- #12 Matt Williams — 6-of-15 for 61 yards, 2 INTs
