Geneva's special teams star against Streamwood
One word pretty much summed up Geneva's 55-22 Upstate Eight Conference River Division football victory over Streamwood Friday night at Burgess Field - special.
As in special teams.
It took just 13 seconds for the Vikings (3-0, 1-0) to jump out on top as senior Donny Friedel took the opening kickoff 95 yards through the middle of the field for a touchdown.
"The coaches always tell us whether it's a kickoff or a kick return, it's the first play of the game," said Friedel. "It sets the tone of the game. It was well-blocked and wide-open."
"I'll take a quick lead any time," said Vikings coach Rob Wicinski, whose team allowed a kick return for a touchdown one week earlier against Richards. "We've really been working hard on our kick return. We think we've got some weapons back there."
After forcing a 3-and-out series on the Sabres' opening possession, the Vikings marched 50 yards on 6 plays to extend their lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter.
Tailback Justin Taormina (14 carries, 82 yards) followed 295-pound senior right tackle Loudon Vollbrecht and bounced to the outside on a 13-yard touchdown run.
The key to the drive was a 36-yard pass in the flat from quarterback Sean Chambers (13-of-28, 238 yards, 2 TDs) to Taormina (4 catches, 112 yards) on a 3rd-and-19 play.
Nearly 3 minutes later, the Vikings' special teams added the second of their 4 touchdowns.
Friedel burst through the line to block a 36-yard field goal attempt and senior teammate Collin Lee picked up the bouncing ball and raced 60 yards for a touchdown as the Vikings led 21-0 after 1 quarter.
"It's actually really funny because right before we went out there my best friend, Collin Lee, said, 'I'm getting one (touchdown) because you got one,'" said Friedel. "I blocked it and he ran it back. It was just really cool. We excelled on special teams tonight."
Chambers, who has thrown 8 touchdown passes in his first 3 games, connected with Taormina on a 65-yard TD strike as the Vikings' multipurpose threat caught the screen pass in the middle of the field, then bounced to the outside and escaped a pair of would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone for a 28-0 advantage.
With 4:35 left in the second quarter, holder Ryan Skibinski raced 25 yards on a fake field goal for the Vikings' fifth touchdown of the half.
Geneva led 35-0 at halftime.
"In the first half, we made mistakes you can't make against a great football team," said Sabres coach Don Guindon. "We put ourselves in a giant hole."
Led by sophomore quarterback Brendon Marton (20-of-38, 295 yards, 2 TDs), Streamwood (1-2, 0-1) tallied 14 unanswered points, highlighted by Marton's 61-yard touchdown pass to Tim Crom (3 receptions, 130 yards).
Two minutes later, Skibinski scored his 2nd touchdown of the game on a 24-yard pass from Chambers and Lance Arni capped the night with a 55-yard kick return for the Vikings' 7th TD - 4th on special teams.
"I can't remember having as many big plays on the special teams side of it in a long, long time," said Wicinski. "That was a real positive."