By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current
Geneseo and Moline were running a neck-and-neck race during most of the first half of their game at Bob Reade Field on Friday, Sept. 13.
But then, LOW BRIDGE!. .on Geneseo's side of the trail.
The Leafs got to their feet, dusted themselves off, got their bearings, and started looking for the horse.
They found the horse and were still in the game.
Geneseo trailed by 10 points with about four minutes left in the third quarter. Facing fourth down and a few, the Leafs' staff elected to try a 27-yard field goal, figuring they could shave three points off Moline's lead then catch them in the fourth quarter.
When you're playing a bigger school, one of their athletes might make a play that turns everything their way. That was the case here.
The field goal try was blocked and linebacker Corbin Schnell scooped up the football and ran 78 yards for a score. Now, it's a 17-point Moline lead, near the mid-point of the third quarter.
Two Leafs were hurt on the play, there was some controversy about blocking on the return, but no foul was called.
Schnell's return ended Geneseo's being close the rest of the way in Moline's 51-21 victory.
That was tough for Geneseo's players.
“Yeah, for sure,” said Geneseo coach Matt Furlong. “Our kids were upset. And they should have been. They had invested a lot of energy and time preparing for that game.”
On Saturday, coaches and players watched the films, with a focus on some good things Geneseo got done.
Furlong said last week he wanted to see his down linemen getting under Moline pads and driving. He said that happened at times, especially in the first half, which ended with Moline leading 24-21.
The Leaf line produced some movement. A play of beauty was an option right, with quarterback Jackson McAvoy making a perfect pitch to running back Kye Weinzierl, who timed his cut perfectly and completed a 49-yard scoring run that helped to put Geneseo up 21-14 at the time.
But Geneseo was outscored 27-0 in the second half; 17-0 over the last four minutes of the second quarter and the first four of the third period.
Furlong said Moline adjusted to Geneseo's wing formations, “then we re-adjusted, but by then it was too late,” he said.
So this week, it's on to Soule Bowl in East Moline for a game against the UT Panthers.
UT comes in at 1-2. They lost 18-16 to LaSalle-Peru, beat overmatched Chicago Muchin 67-0, then were edged 27-26 by Sterling.
The Panthers will be something very different from Moline, but “they pose big challenges,” Furlong said.
“They want to spread the ball around to their athletes out on the edges and let them make plays,” Furlong said.
“Offensively, we must control the ball and eliminate penalties,” the coach said.
“When we execute, it's like I said last week, we're capable of playing with the bigger schools in the conference. That's a point of emphasis for us this week. Our guys have to believe they can do that,” Furlong said.
He added: “We have to do it the entire game.”
