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!!
