You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them.
Don’t think so?
Just ask a gambler like Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen.
That was my takeaway last Saturday, listening to the call of WSPY’s Jim Teckenbrock of the Class 6A second-round playoff battle between Thorgesen’s Vikings and neighboring Burlington Central while driving home after filing my story on the West Aurora-Maine South game.
In a game filled with big play after big play, an onside kick by Geneva midway through the third quarter may have been the biggest.
Several days later, Thorgesen credited special teams coach Russ Lorenz and members of his staff for the decision.
“We had talked at halftime about a scenario where if they took another lead and we tied it again we might come right back with the onside kick,” Thorgesen said.
The Vikings tied the game three times in the first half, including touchdown passes of 60 and 85 yards by Tony Chahino, only to have the Rockets move ahead 28-21 midway through the third quarter.
When Talyn Taylor responded on the ensuing kickoff with a 96-yard return for another tying TD, the stage was set.
Lorenz put the play in motion after getting the nod from Thorgesen. Senior kicker Jayden Hodgdon and backup sophomore kicker Bennett Konkey were both on the field, with Konkey taking the kick and senior reserve Owen Homewood making the big recovery.
Chahino and Co. then drove for another TD, giving Geneva its first lead en route to a 42-28 win.
“We had repped it a couple times in practice because we saw something we liked on film,” Thorgesen said. “If we didn’t get it, though, I didn’t know if we were ever going to stop them.”
It was also Geneva’s first onside kick of the season.
“We ran a few fake punts last year and became known for it, but this was a first,” Thorgesen said.
Geneva (10-1) advances to the quarterfinals for the second straight season and plays at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lake Forest (9-2), a team the Vikings beat 42-7 last year in the second round.
“They had a lot of juniors playing last year and it’s a very good team,” Thorgesen said. “I like that we’re familiar with it.”
The Scouts won 23-17, driving 99 yards in the final 95 seconds Saturday to edge North Suburban Conference rival Libertyville by a TD for the second time in three weeks.
“They handed Libertyville its only two losses, and that’s a team that beat two 8A quarterfinalists,” Thorgesen said of Stevenson and Warren.
Batavia finding more options
A dual-threat quarterback is one who can hurt you with his arm or his legs, throwing or running the ball. The last few weeks, however, Batavia has had a different daily double at the position.
The Bulldogs have been using two different players at the position — junior Bodi Anderson and sophomore Michael Vander Luitgaren — with measureable success.
Vander Luitgaren stepped up and took most of the practice reps one week late in the season with Anderson out sick. Both saw playing time that week and the practice continues.
Last week, the Bulldogs rallied from a 21-0 deficit to win 25-21 in a Class 7A second-round playoff game at Lincoln-Way West.
Anderson completed 5 of 9 passes for 75 yards and Vander Luitgaren completed 14 of 20 passes for 269 yards.
Adding another twist?
Senior wide receiver Isaiah Brown completed an option pass to Keegan Harp for a 76-yard TD.
Batavia (10-1) plays host to last year’s Class 7A runner-up Downers Grove North (10-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Trojans go with a very good second-year starter in junior quarterback Owen Lansu, who is committed to Minnesota and coach P.J. Fleck, a Kaneland graduate.
Where’s the beef?
That has to be the question at West Aurora, where the Blackhawks moved back this season to the Upstate Eight West and promptly took the conference title.
What we learned is the schedule needs beefing up during those early nonconference dates. Tougher tests need to be found.
West Aurora’s 9-0 record in the regular season included a 45-20 crossover win over Upstate Eight East champion Glenbard East.
Under coach Nate Eimer, West Aurora also made it 10 straight victories with a strong 31-21 first-round playoff win over Huntley before losing 41-6 at perennial powerhouse Maine South.
In seven of those wins, the Blackhawks scored 50 or more points while allowing seven or less.
What does that tell us?
They need more challenges.
