Geneva Falls from Unbeaten Ranks

In the end, Geneva’s football team wasn’t able to overcome its own mistakes.

Two crucial errors proved too costly for the Vikings (5-1, 3-1) during Friday night’s 46-34 Upstate Eight Conference River Division loss to neighboring rival Batavia (6-0, 3-0) before a raucous crowd at Burgess Field.

The first big mistake came late in the first half with the Vikings clinging to a 14-9 lead. On a 3rd-and-9 play from their own 23, quarterback Matt Williams was unable to field a high snap from the shotgun position.

Linebacker Austin Lewis ultimately recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, and the successful two-point pass from Noel Gaspari to Cole Gardner gave the Bulldogs a 17-14 halftime lead.

The second key error occurred late in the third quarter when Williams was sacked in the red zone by Lewis on a botched fake punt attempt. Two plays later, another Batavia touchdown left the Vikings down 32-20.

“The punt with Matt (Williams) was supposed to be gone,” said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski. “That’s giving them seven and then there’s the other giveaway. That’s 14 points right there.

“It’s not necessarily the teams that make plays – it’s the teams that don’t make plays,” added Wicinski. “We didn’t make plays.”

Geneva, which took a 7-0 lead on Williams’ 1-yard bootleg around right end with 4:25 left in the opening quarter, set up by Ben Rogers’ 63-yard punt return, extended the margin to 14-6 when Williams connected with Rogers with a 2-yard TD pass on fourth-and-goal.

The Vikings took their final lead of the night at 20-17 on a 44-yard touchdown run by Parker Woodworth (20 carries, 115 yards) with 7:41 left in the third quarter.

Bobby Hess’ 95-yard kickoff return for a TD electrified the crowd, and Williams’ 13-yard keeper for a score made it a one-possession game with the Vikings trailing 39-34 with 4:33 remaining.

Unfortunately, the Vikings weren’t able to get a key defensive stop, and Alec Lyons’ 2-yard TD run with 1:42 left sealed the deal for the Bulldogs.

“The difference was their ability to control the ball,” said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski. “They controlled the line of scrimmage and they controlled us offensively up front. Even though we got some points, we really weren’t able to do a lot of things we wanted to do.”

Geneva, whose last home loss came nearly two years ago against Rochelle (21-14), returns to Burgess Field to face Streamwood (5-1, 3-1) on Oct. 7.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow but the sun will come up,” Wicinski said of the loss. “We’ll see how the kids handle it.”