Geneva handles West Aurora
With the smile of a con man who knows something nobody else knows, Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said he has been hiding quarterback Sean Chambers in “my back pocket.”
After Chambers coolly directed the host Vikings to a 28-14 Upstate Eight crossover victory against West Aurora on Friday night to open the 2015 season, Wicinski has nothing more to hide. The word will spread quickly that Geneva has a good quarterback again.
It was clear to see that Geneva will be in good hands with the senior Chambers, a defensive safety all of last year, leading the way. He tossed three touchdown passes and a two-point conversion pass, while connecting on 17 of 22 for 136 yards, and ran for 54 yards for good measure off of effective read-option plays — an offensive weapon Geneva hasn't deployed in years.
“I wish Chambers was a year or two younger, but he kind of got stacked up behind Santa (last year's quarterback Daniel Santacanterina) a little bit,” Wicinski said. “He's got a sharp arm and he is so smart.”
Geneva (1-0) needed all of that sharpness and smarts to outlast a spirited West Aurora squad that outgained the Vikings in total yards 327-298 and piled up 20 first downs in keeping the game close until the final three minutes.
Whether it was opening night jitters by the players, poor execution, or the referees simply wanting practice throwing penalty flags, both teams were bogged down by penalties. Refs threw 26 flags, many hurting offensive drives or defensive stands for both squads.
The Vikings weren't able to safely notch their first win until halfback Justin Taormina (26 carries, 102 yards) bulled into the end zone from a yard out with nine minutes left. After Chambers hit Quinn Erdman with a two-point pass, Geneva extended its lead to 28-14, a mountain West Aurora couldn't climb.
Geneva opened the game with a 9-play, 61-yard scoring drive as Chambers found Brendan Hines slanting across the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown strike.
West Aurora (0-1) quickly displayed its dangerous speed when standout tailback DaQuan Cross broke loose for an 80-yard jaunt to the Geneva 9-yard line. A holding penalty nullified a touchdown two plays later, and the Blackhawks came away empty.
Geneva took advantage in engineering a 65-yard scoring drive, capped by Chambers, who tossed a perfect corner fade pass to Jack Wassel for another 10-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the first quarter.
The Blackhawks capped a 67-yard drive when Cross spun through the middle of the line for a 4-yard touchdown with just over two minutes left in the half, but it left Geneva enough time to answer.
Chambers hit six different receivers during the night, and his third touchdown pass came on a rollout to his right before firing an 8-yard bullet to Ryan Skibinski with 31 seconds left in the half. A pass interference penalty on a third down play kept Geneva's drive alive.
“It went great tonight and I am just overwhelmed and overjoyed about it,” Chambers said. “We had been playing with that read option a little bit in practice and it played out well tonight. We really game-planned well for this, and it paid off in the end.”
When fullback Daniel Martinez barreled into the end zone from 10 yards out with 9:01 left, the Blackhawks narrowed Geneva's lead to 20-14.
But Chambers saved his most effective runs of the night on a final 67-yard scoring drive, though he was saved by a teammate who recovered his fumble near the West Aurora goal line after an 8-yard run for a key first down.
“Coming from the defensive side of the ball in the past, he understands the defense and I think I will be able to run him more than our other quarterbacks in the past,” Wicinski said of Chambers. “It's not that he's any tougher, but he just has that mentality of a defensive player.”
West Aurora coach Nate Eimer had high praise for his team in staying close to the Vikings on their home field. He especially liked the effort of DaQuan Cross, whom he called “a special kid” for his slashing, high-speed 151 yards in 10 carries.
“DaQuan was great, but we just have to get better as a team and eliminate the penalties,” Eimer said.
Eimer also singled out Chambers and defensive lineman Steve Kemp as keys for Geneva.
“I think Chambers is exceptional,” Eimer said. “He is a great defensive safety and a very tough quarterback. And defensively that kid Kemp, we couldn't handle him tonight and just couldn't go after him.”
Kemp led the charge on various quarterback hurries, but Geneva's defense overall displayed good pursuit and team tackling against a crafty Wing-T offense led by hard-nosed quarterback Jonathan Doyle.
“We shut them down and got after them,” Kemp said. “The 80-yard run was just a breakdown, and that happens, but we kept them down after that.”