Hard Work Rewards Peters and Leafs
By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current
We keep coming back to that Rochelle game, but why not?
It was a classic!
“They'll be talking about this game for years!” exclaimed Geneseo TV play-by-play announcer Denny Diericx.
So why not talk about it a little more now?
Leafs Coach Matt Furlong had a few words to share about the man of the hour, placekicker Carson Peters, whose 36-yard field goal provided the margin of Geneseo's 16-14 win over Rochelle.
“Carson has done a job working on onside kicks,” Furlong said. “It paid off.”
“Carson spent a lot of time this summer working on kicking with his dad,” the coach said. “To the point of doing calisthenics right before running out to kick, to get his heart rate up before running out and kicking in a game.”
That's not crazy. But it's pretty precise!
“Carson played both soccer and football before this year, but he decided to just do football this year,” Furlong said. “And all the work with his dad has helped Carson become more comfortable with the game.”
Some keys to the Geneseo win
“We knew the Rochelle game would be tight,” Furlong said. “We knew matchups with their offensive line would be tough, but our kids responded to the situation and put themselves in position to win.”
“The kids said they were sore, so we asked them if they would rather win and be sore . . .or lose and be sore,” said the coach.
Furlong said Geneseo won because of three reasons, then named more than that.
'First, on defense we tackled really well except for maybe two plays, and we held them to three to five yards per play,” he said.
“Second, our kids knew what to expect from our first game against Rochelle.” (such as being sore!)
“Third, we had diversity on offense. We worked Kye Weinzierl and Jackson McAvoy against them early, then came back with Mark Nelms inside later,” Furlong said.
“Another thing was our special teams play” noting the most special play of all – the last one – and one a bit earlier: Peters's kickoff which led to Jayden Wexell's recovery.
Furlong also said the Leafs used a new scheme to pass the ball to Weinzierl in behind the defense to set up the game-winning field goal.
“It was big that we held them to two scores,” Furlong said.
“This game, we executed well all over, compared with our first game with them,” he said, “and the kids stayed more composed in the fourth quarter.”
Playoffs help sustain programs
It's no accident that Geneseo and quite a few other programs appear in the state playoffs quite often.
Coach Pat Mitchell, one of the commentators on Geneseo's livestream broadcasts, said, “Each week the varsity advances in the playoff means another week the younger players can practice with them,” he said.
The high school season is relatively short compared with the college and pro campaigns, and that extra practice leads to some drastic improvements during the playoffs. If you've watched Geneseo teams over the years, you'll remember how some of them just exploded during post-season play.
“Staying alive in the playoffs is a way the good programs sustain themselves,” Mitchell said.
