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Geneva beats Glenbard North for 3rd straight win

The momentum of a football game can change in the blink of an eye.

Friday night in Geneva, both the Vikings and the Glenbard North Panthers experienced both sides of the swing of momentum. Geneva eventually survived the multiple momentum shifts to win 32-12, but the final score did not indicate how the close game really was for 42 minutes.

Vikings head coach Rob Wicinski thought his team was finally making the plays he expected out of them and was happy with the way the Vikings closed the season.

"We're finally making some plays here in these last three games," Wicinski said. "I'm really proud of our guys tonight. They always play hard, but tonight it paid off in the end. I give them (Glenbard North) a lot of credit too. They played very hard and we just ended up making a few more plays than they did."

Brendan Krohe's touchdown from 39 yards out to put the Vikings up 17-6 with just over 8 minutes to play seemingly had put the game out of reach.

The Panthers struggled to get their running game going and had relied mostly on the passing of junior quarterback Michael Vazquez to move the ball. Trailing now 17-6, Vazquez dropped back to pass on first down of the Panthers' next possession and was sacked by Cole Campbell for an 11-yard loss.

With time continuing to run off the clock, Vazquez dropped back to pass again on second down and this time found junior wide receiver Kobie Jamison on the far left of the field for a completion. Jamison turned on the jets and outran the Vikings defenders for a 91-yard touchdown and move the score to 17-12 with just over 7 minutes to play.

Geneva (3-6, 3-4) fumbled the ensuing kick off on its own 17-yard line to give the ball back to Glenbard North (0-9, 0-7) for the second time in the red zone on their last three possessions. Earlier in the fourth quarter, the Panthers drove to the Vikings 10-yard line, but junior Joseph Pantano intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone to end the drive.

On the Panthers' third play from scrimmage from the 17-yard line, Vazquez appeared to hit a wide-open Rory Hills for the go-ahead touchdown. However, the play was called back due to an ineligible man downfield. On the next play following the penalty, Pantano struck again, bolting in front of the receiver, intercepting the pass, and returning it 98 yards for a touchdown to seal the game.

"Instincts just took over. I saw it was a drag route and I made the read and got the interception," Pantano said. "Then I headed to the sideline and started getting some blockers. I think they were expecting me to step out, so I decided to make a move and I scored."

The Vikings added another score late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Alex Williams ran it in from 4 yards out.

Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens thought the key was missed opportunities when they had chances to score.

"We had a difficult time getting our ground game going," Wilkens said. "I give them (Geneva) a lot of credit because they really played great defense tonight. We got down inside the 20 a couple of times and didn't score and that's what really hurt us."

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