Bowling: 2025-26 Lady Leafs Bowling Roster

2025-26 Lady Leafs Bowling Roster
Good Luck & Have A Great Season!

Seniors
Natalie Aukee
Reyhan Onder
Jessica Cartwright
Hayley Henry
Maria Hartsock
Greta Bolme
Jessa Gramling
Claire Yenor

Juniors
Alexis Johnson
Aliexis Williams

Sophomores
Lyna Bassett
Zoe Friedline
Evelyn Gernant
Chloee Milroy
Parker Weisser

Freshmen
Charleigh Campbell
Savannah Carlson
Isabella Lewis

Wrestling: 2025-26 Lady Leafs Wrestling Roster

2025-26 Lady Leafs Wrestling
Good Luck & Have A Great Season!

Molly Snyder

Head Coaches: Carley Rusk & Erik Brown
Assistant Coaches: Maddy Berthold & Tricia Hull
Manager: Brooke Shollenberger

Seniors
Anna Davis

Juniors
Kardiwin Gonzalez
Lydia King
Lauren Piquard
Ayla Schultz
Molly Snyder

Sophomores
Makayla Bros
Addison Hadsall
Annibelle Juarez
Annabella Kelley

Freshmen
Brenna Dykstra
Tylaiha Medina
Sophia Urquiza
Giana Wurslin

Wrestling: 2025-26 Maple Leafs Wrestling Roster

2025-26 Maple Leafs Wrestling
Good Luck & Have A Great Season!

Malaki Jackson

Head Coach: Tom Rusk
Assistant Coaches: Patrick Babcock, Josiah Cropp, Brad Kreiner, Anthony Montez, Jessie Montez, Jeremy Moser, Jon Murray, Carley Rusk, Jason Smith, & Nick Verbeck
Manager: Zara Andersen

Seniors
Lincoln Barnett
Grady Hull
Malaki Jackson
Kye Weinzierl

Juniors
Izaac Gaines
TJ Kennedy
Jack Mickley
Colten Mooney
Dominic Ritter
Kie Smith
Josh Stahl

Sophomores
Landon Barnett
Brycen Fahnestock
Phoenix Ferro-Heller
Kane Hamer
Cole Henson
Harrison Hill
Dawson Hull
Elliott Kreiner
Memphis Ramsey
Jaydn Shipman
Landen Vincent

Freshmen
Alexander Darnall
Sawyet Forsythe
Will Henry
Emmitt Hill
Owen Jacobi
Kellen Miller
Tad Moore
Cameron Proehl
Kayden Rusk
JW Seals
Martez Sefton
Ben Simosky
Jack Snook
Kain Stroud

Green Machine: BRAKEdown - Weinzierl

By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current

Weinzierl Honored as an All-Stater

If the all-state football teams are starting to appear in the media, then it must be getting close to Thanksgiving.

That's the case now, as Geneseo two-way standout senior Kye Weinzierl has been chosen to the 18-player Class 4A team announced by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association.

Weinzierl, a 6-1, 191-pound senior, is one of three players from the WB6 to gain a spot on one of the association's all-state squads.

The Maple Leaf standout was also voted the Most Valuable Player recently in the WB6.

Drew Phillips of Moline made the Class 7A team as a linebacker, quarterback and wide receiver.

The other WB6 player to make it was Todd Smith in Class 6A. He is a 6-6, 305-pound two-way down lineman from Quincy.

Several players Geneseo played against in the playoffs also were named in Class 4A.

They included Roman Villalobos, a fullback from Rochelle; Caedon Curran, the fullback from Morris, and Drake May, a running back and linebacker from Macomb.

Green Machine: BRAKEdown - 2025 Wrap

By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current

This is the Game That Never Ends . . .

“If you had told me back at the start of the season, that this Geneseo team would take Morris into the fourth quarter of a state quarterfinals game with a chance to win, I wouldn't have believed you,” Maple Leafs Coach Matt Furlong said.

“I felt like we had them on the ropes,” the coach said.

Remedies? Another last-minute onside kick recovery, maybe – or, just five more minutes of playing time.

The Leafs didn't get that recovery – or the five minutes. Morris and all-state fullback Caedon Curran won this train wreck of a high school football game, 28-26, at a throbbing Bob Reade Field on Saturday, Nov. 15.

I'm not sure veteran observers around the state figured Geneseo would get that close to Morris, but we watched a rising Leafs team grow into their shoulder pads and uniforms as this game progressed.

“We tackled real well, especially toward the end,” Furlong said.

Reason for not winning?

“We missed our first point-after kick, then we didn't convert on a two-point attempt after our second touchdown,” the coach said. “If I had it to do again, I would opt for a one-point try and going into halftime down 14-13.”

Well, there were other reasons, of course, in such a closely-contested game.

Keys for the Redskins after halftime was the patient running of all-state fullback Caedon Curran. He would approach the line slowly, waiting for his big linemen to make contact. Then he would accelerate into the holes. Not big holes, but enough for Morris to keep moving the sticks, and wind up scoring its third and fourth touchdowns.

Geneseo kept moving the ball, too. “We were getting movement with our outside veer. But eventually, it became a fullback game for us.” Furlong said.

Fullbacks Mark Nelms and freshman Ben Simosky combined for 30 carries in this game. “Our previous high for fullback carries in a game this year was 18,” Furlong said.

Nelms took a hit during third quarter play that caused back spasms. He had to come out, and into the biggest game of his life came ninth-grader Simosky.

With spin moves and fullback smashes he barged Geneseo to the four yard line, then smashed his way in from there.

“Morris is a good, big physical team, but we responded to it better in the second half and found ways to move the ball,” Furlong said.

Geneseo had no passing yards in this game, but Furlong wasn't too concerned about that. “When we wanted to throw, Jackson (quarterback McAvoy) wasn't getting much of a rush, so he picked up yardage scrambling.”

Morris , with Curran carrying the load, powered downfield and took a 28-19 lead with 4:43 left. Simosky scored his touchdown with 1:23 left. “He had older, very good players bouncing off of HIM,” Furlong said.

And this scenario started looking like the Rochelle game's finish. Could lightning strike again?

Carson Peters again executed an onside kick. “Kye (Weinzierl) actually got a hand on the ball,” Furlong said. “Had we recovered, I think 1:23 would have been enough for us to drive down and kick the winning field goal,” said Geneseo's coach.

Geneseo closed a 9-3 season. “The biggest thing we achieved this year was getting a “buy-in” from the boys, offensively and defensively,” Furlong said.

Championships are nice, but they're a by-product. Competition varies from year to year. But one thing a coach can measure is whether a team got better during the season.

In closing his TV telecast of the game, Geneseo Hall of Fame Coach Denny Diericx said, “I've never seen a football team that improved so much in just one season.”

“I learned over a number of years at Cary-Grove that you've got to keep finding ways,” Furlong said.

“We can be happy with what we accomplished this year,” said the coach, “but we can never be content with it. We have to grow with it.”

LEAF NOTES: “If we had to play Montini in Saturday's semifinals, we'd likely be without four guys,” said Furlong. “But I think Morris might be without two.”. . .The Leafs rushed for more than 3,000 yards in their 12-game season. Jackson McAvoy led with just over 1,000 yards. Weinzierl had 881, and Nelms had 750. Harrison Hill and several others took the total past 3,000. Weinzierl made 168 tackles, including 96 assisted and 72 solo. He had four sacks and two interceptions. He made the the coaches association Class 4A all-state team and was voted best overall player in the Western Big Six.

OBSERVATION: “Always Together” are the words written at the base of every Geneseo varsity helmet. Football season never ends here. It may be carried over to a new calendar year, but after you've once made it to the Green Machine, your heart will be in every game. Wait a few years, and see if I'm not right about this . . . - Keith Brake, Geneseo Current

2025-26 Maple Leafs Bowling Roster

2025-26 Maple Leafs Bowling Roster
Good Luck & Have A Great Season!

Quinnland Einfeldt Rolling A Strike For The Maple Leafs!

Seniors
Ethan Bell
Brennan Brown
Quinnland Einfeldt
Landon Favri
Bradley Hartman
Kane Jobe
Adam Johnson
Cy Sammons
Chase Sanders

Juniors
Alex Aleman
Grant Bjorkman
Owen Finegan
Lucian-David Fritz
Tyler Gerstel
Zach Johnson
Eli Palmer
Joey Thoene
Landon Weimer
Justin Williams

Sophomores
Raidyn Allison
Jaxx Burris
Keagan Ginther
Vance Hansen
Kale Juchcinski
Chase VanDeWoestyne

Freshmen
Chazz Eng
Kais Sproston

Coaches
Head Coach: Chris Pruett
Assistant Coaches: Dakota Einfeldt, Dave Littig, Jennifer Pruett

Green Machine: BRAKEdown - Week 12

Geneseo vs. Morris: This is Why Our Kids Do Football

By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current


If you play football for Geneseo, Saturday's Class 4A quarterfinals game against Morris is the kind of event you want to be part of.

A challenge, to be sure, against a fellow “blueblood” program (one that has a storied history).

Morris has three state championships and 11 state title game appearances. Geneseo has four state crowns, and 10 appearances in the state finals.

Their histories ricochet off playoff wannabees around the state.

Their colors reflect National Football League glory (Morris the Redskins/Commanders), Geneseo the Packers.

Both are good this year. The Redskins are 10-1 and have lost only to a good team in Michigan. Geneseo is 9-2 and in a resurgence under second-year Coach Matt Furlong.

The Leafs have won seven in a row, their offensive numbers have been climbing, and their defense is ...well, surging to the ball.

Geneseo is quick off the football period, in a way that reminds one of their championship years.

We suspect Morris is powerful up front. The Redskins, it seems, always are.

They got here in different ways last week. Somehow Morris and Metamora, with traditional ground games, got into a shootout. Metamora started fast, but the Redskins caught them at 29-29 by halftime.

Morris kept going, posting 35 more points after intermission, to 14 by the Redbirds. Those add up to 64-50 for Morris – 14 is a typical margin for each in one of their games. That margin works.

“Metamora had a running back who was in the state track meet last spring. He made people miss in the open field,” said Leafs Coach Matt Furlong.

But a collection of Morris athletes made Metamora tacklers miss.

“Morris does what Macomb tried to do last week, but with more athletic ability,” said Geneseo's coach.

They do it from a shotgun formation. “They'll take vertical shots down the field, and we had better be ready,” the Leafs' coach said.

“On defense, they're aggressive. That creates some seams, but they make it tough for your offense to get through,” Furlong said.

Morris running back Caedon Curran (6-0, 195) was averaging 139 yards rushing in his team's first nine games. Quarterback Brady Varner, (6-1, 180) hasn't thrown for huge yardage, but his completion rate is a dizzying 63%.

Furlong has his quarterbacks take snaps from under center, which had been a Geneseo tradition. The Leafs run their version of the wing-T, but quarterback Jackson McAvoy is a slick operator of the veer option, too.

McAvoy leads Geneseo rushers with around 900 yards.

Geneseo has a speed and all-around threat in Kye Weinzierl, a 6-1, 191-pound senior, who plays wingback, wide-out, free safety and linebacker . . .whatever the Leafs need most at the moment.

Last week, Weinzierl, a very strong tackler, was named the most valuable player in the Western Big 6, a league that includes some 4A, 6A and 7A schools.

Lately, Leafs fullback Mark Nelms has really asserted himself in the position. He hits the line and the hole really fast, which helps mightily in setting up Geneseo's option. At first, his 3-4 yard gains advanced to 5-8, and now some are going beyond that.

In the 29-0 win over Macomb last week, Geneseo started fast on defense and kept getting better. “When we play a certain way, we're pretty good,” Furlong said.

Offense: The Leafs started well, but drifted off to a far pavilion in the second quarter, in which they racked up eight penalties! They checked back in after halftime. Geneseo had no penalties the rest of the way, with 76-yard and 80-yard scoring drives.

“Better execution,” Furlong said. “Long drives. That's what we need to see. We're aiming to simplify. . .and execute.”

Game time Saturday is 2 p.m. at Bob Reade Field. Be there!!