Leafs Didn’t Go Quietly Into the Night
By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current
Did you get the feeling, as I did, that in the second half, Geneseo was closer to playing at Lombard Montini’s lofty level than the Leafs had been earlier in Montini’s 35-12 win?
I can pinpoint the moment: With 4:33 left in the first half and the Broncos leading 14-0, Geneseo quarterback Luca Turigliatti went back to throw his first pass of the game.
It was a rainbow out to the left flat, to tight end Cyrus Babcock, who gathered it in and completed a 39-yard touchdown play.
Up until then, Turigliatti was looking at what Leafs TV man Denny Diericx called a 5-5-1 defense: “10 men up close to the line of scrimmage.”
That play moved those defenders back a bit and gave Geneseo’s linemen and backs a little more room to maneuver in.
It’s not that the outcome turned on a dime after that play, but the Leafs seemed more able to compete.
Geneseo’s Carson Peters kicked a 39-yard field goal on the last play of a 21-9 first half.
Not close yet, but Geneseo was to receive the second half kickoff, so yes, the Leafs were still in this.
Geneseo was able to get out to its own 41 on its first drive of the second half, which ended with a fourth down stop with 7:06 left in the third quarter.
The Broncos put the hammer down with a quick scoring drive, capped by a quarterback sneak by Montini’s Israel Abrams, the Miami Hurricanes commit, who reportedly is the number two quarterback recruit in the country. That made it 28-9, with 3:44 left in the third quarter.
Is he that good? Well, like Geneseo Coach Matt Furlong said last week, “he’s the real deal.”
Abrams, 6-5 and 190 pounds, is very quick afoot, reads the field well, and his flair passes into the flats are laser beams. You can’t believe how quickly his missiles reach their targets.
Abrams is protected by a offensive line, the interior of which ranges between 275 and 305 pounds.
Abrams’ numbers in this game: 12-for-16 passing, for 154 yards. He rushed for 59 yards and three touchdowns. Montini had a slippery running back who totaled just over 100 yards rushing.
Montini’s defensive linemen and linebackers aren’t terribly big but they are quick and they swarm. They halted two fourth Geneseo drives with interceptions.
The Leafs got a 40-yard field goal from Peters to make it 28-12 moments into the fourth quarter.
An Abrams one-yard sneak ended scoring with 6:31 left to play. Then, a lot of younger Geneseo players picked up some playoff experience against a very good program (eight state championships and counting).
So . . .was Abrams the best quarterback Geneseo has ever faced? My thoughts on the question in a moment. Consider that we may not have seen him at his best. Although he played to the end, Montini wasn’t in serious danger of losing this game after its lead went to 28-12.
I will say that the best we ever saw against us was Phil Bradley of Macomb, in 1976. In a regular season game, he threw for 353 yards. But, it was in a 35-32 loss to the Leafs.
That guy threw finger-fracturing smart bombs.
Wayne Strader scored the winning touchdown for Geneseo with 56 seconds left. That was a 13-0 Geneseo team, which won the Class 3A state championship game over Metamora.
Bradley went on to star in football and baseball at the University of Missouri. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1981, made is Major League debut in 1983, was an All-Star in 1985. He played for Seattle, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Chicago White Sox.
A FEW STATS - Luca Turigliatti was four-for-nine passing in this game, for 86 yards and a touchdown. He also led Geneseo rushers with 67 yards on 10 carries.
