Sports
FOOTBALL FINAL: Vikings Flushed With Homecoming Confidence, Beat Maroons 49-6
Big Blue-and-White wins the battle of the color pallete Friday at Burgess Field.
Apparently, the key for the Vikings is to play teams from Elgin named after rich colors.
In a battle of 1-5 teams, Geneva got off to a quick start Friday. Bobby Hess scored five times in the first half, and the Vikings' blue won the battle of the color spectrum over Elgin's Maroons.
"At the end of the season, we usually play our best football," coach Rob Wicinski said after the game. "Even the freshman (quarterback Nick Derr; 7-of-13 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown), he’s coming around. There’s more depth and breadth with the offense now. I’m really proud of them. They could have really rolled over and they haven’t. They’re practicing as hard as they ever have."
Find out what's happening in Genevawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Hess celebrated Homecoming with 187 yards rushing on 12 carries in the first half alone, scoring touchdowns on runs of 19, 62, 33, 32 and 16 yards. In between, Derr hit junior Kyle Brown on a 9-yard touchdown pass.
"Bobby’s been the one consistent," Wicinski said. "I said, 'Bobby, you’re out here for practice today, right?' And I had to go hug him. I go: 'This is awesome you’re here, man. Bobby, you still here?' Go hug him again. 'This is awesome, man.' He sticks it nice. Coach Herrera’s working hard with him, reading his blocks. You can see even that (part of our game) progress."
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Elgin scored on a 68-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryan Sitter to Dontell Gaddy with 8:41 showing in the second-quarter to avoid the running clock.
The running clock started after the 3:19 mark in the third quarter, when Hess scored from 14 yards out to boost Geneva's lead over the 40-point mark, at 49-6. That would turn out to be the final score.
"Maroon is a bright, rich, deep, or dark red color, depending on which tone of maroon is in question; could be purplish in color," Wikipedia says. The Vikings' other win this year, also at home, was a 56-23 shootout against the Elgin Larkin Royals. (Royal blue describes both a bright shade and a dark shade of azure blue.)
With the win over the Maroons, the Vikings' record improves to 2-5 overall, 2-3 in the Upstate Eight River Division.
"(We'll take) anything good, especially at Homecoming," Wicinski said. "I felt really bad for them early in the year. But I’m thinking to myself, hey, this is life, man. What an unbelievable life lesson. You know, it stinks a little bit. But you know what? You’ve got to keep moving on. You lose a paycheck or something, you can’t stop working for your family, you know? It is what it is. They understood that. They don’t like it, but they’ve strived and I’m proud of them. They keep coming."
Score by Quarter
- Geneva 14-28-7-0—49
- Elgin 0-6-0-0—6
Scoring
- 1st / 9:35 #32 Bobby Hess, 19-yard run — 7-0
- 1st / 2:28 #32 Bobby Hess, 62-yard run — 14-0
- 2nd / 11:55 #17 Nick Derr to #15 Kyle Brown, 9-yard pass — 21-0
- 2nd / 10:54 #32 Hess, 33-yard run — 28-0
- 2nd / 10:27 #32 Hess, 32-yard run — 35-0
- 2nd / 8:41 Elgin #15 Ray Sitter to #12 Dontrell Gaddy, 68-yard pass — 35-6
- 2nd / 7:33 #32 Hess, 16-yard run — 42-6
- 3rd / 3:19 #32 Hess, 14-yard run — 49-6
GENEVA STATS
Rushing
- #5 Jake Boser — 13 yards, 2 carries
- #8 Pace Temple — 17 yards, 1 carry
- #16 Jason Soto — 7 yards, 4 carries
- #17 Nick Derr — 20 yards, 3 carries
- #22 Joe Boenzi — 64 yards, 5 carries
- #27 Zach Deem — 20 yards, 3 carries
- #28 Daniel Coral — 24 yards, 5 carries
- #32 Bobby Hess — 249 yards, 17 carries, 6 TDs
Passing
- #17 Nick Derr — 7-of-13 for 83 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
- #8 Pace Temple —3 catches, 38 yards
- #15 Kyle Brown —2 catches, 30 yards, 1 TD
- #32 Hess — 2 catches, 15 yards
