Geneva runs by Larkin
Reilly Waldoch did a little of everything for Geneva Friday night.
The junior fullback scored 5 touchdowns, kicked a field goal and 5 extra points, put most of his kickoffs into the end zone, and caught a couple of passes as the Vikings downed Larkin, 50-24, in an Upstate Eight River matchup at Memorial Field in Elgin.
Kindrel Morris accounted for 254 total yards and 2 scores for the Royals.
The game was tied 10-10 midway through the second quarter, but Geneva quickly broke it open. Lavonte Jones scored on a 52-yard run down the right sideline. The Vikings then stopped Larkin on downs deep in their own territory, which led to Waldoch's second touchdown just before halftime.
Geneva got the ball to start the second half and needed just 3 plays to score, with Waldoch going over from the 2. Just like that, it was 31-10.
Morris answered with a 70-yard run, but the Royals could not consistently stop the Vikings' power running game.
Waldoch finished with 131 yards on the ground and Jones added 96. Bobby Murray completed 10 of 16 for 147 yards as well.
"We kept on running the trap and it was working," said Waldoch. "(The offensive linemen) were opening holes every single play, and we're just going to keep on doing that all season."
The Vikings avenged a loss to the Royals last season.
"We were hyping it up all week," Waldoch said. "We were ready for them."
The Royals got a scare when Morris had to be helped off the field late in the third quarter. But he returned to the field on the next series and finished the game.
Morris wound up with 223 rushing yards on 32 carries and caught a 31-yard completion from DJ Ball.
Waldoch's 33-yard field goal put Geneva ahead 10-7. Larkin's Adrian Jaramillo matched it with a 22-yarder.
After Morris' long run, the Vikings answered with a clock-killing drive, going 53 yards in 10 plays after Ian Hanson's kickoff return set them up near midfield. Waldoch finished the drive with a 1-yard run.
On the ensuing possession, the Vikings' defense stuffed Larkin on fourth-and-1 at the 29. Two plays later, Murray scrambled to the 11, then found Max McCloughan in the end zone. McCloughan outleaped a defender for the ball.
Larkin answered once again, with Ball going over from the 3. But the Vikings doused any thoughts of a Royal comeback when Jack Krieger recovered a fumbled punt return on the next possession. Murray and the Vikings kept the drive alive from there. Waldoch's final touchdown was the icing on the cake for Geneva.