Olivia Seei Takes Third At GHS Invite, Lady Leafs Also Third Overall

September 9 - Deere Run - GHS Girls Invite
Final Standings
Rockridge (410)
Dixon (412)
Geneseo (426)
Moline (427)
Sterling (448)
Rock Island (450)
Sherrard (465)
Orion (496)
Alleman (106 / 1 golfer)
Galesburg (309 / 3 golfers)

GHS Results
3rd: Olivia Seei (92 / +21)
15th: Keely Roberts (105 / +34)
17th: Claire DeGrave (107 / +36)
30th: Katy Wilson (122 / +51)
31st: Shay Schehl (123 / +52)
40th: Lillian Bellagamba (134 / +63)

Olivia Seei

BRAKEdown - A Need: Getting Under Opponents' Pads and Driving

By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current

The trip to Wisconsin for a game against Clinton filled a need . . .by filling a hole in Geneseo's schedule.

But otherwise, “not exactly,” said Leafs Coach Matt Furlong.

The coach said the Leafs still have some cleaning and polishing to do this week before hosting Moline on Friday in the WB6 opener.

The Leafs went out and hit the Cougars from the smaller school. But the Cougars hit back during Geneseo's 20-6 victory.

“We need better execution – finishing blocks and tackles,” Furlong said. “We have to eliminate the penalties and turnovers.”

Geneseo led 20-6 at halftime and it remained that way against a team that was willing to meet over the football time and again.

Still it was a game that Geneseo seemed to control pace and tempo, despite not being able to easily play add-on with the score.

There was one big telling statistic: Geneseo converted 10 of 11 third down situations. If my memory is correct, six of those were on the Leafs' opening drive.

Geneseo unveiled its version of the wing-T on that overland trek, which ate up most of the first quarter and resulted in a touchdown.

'The offense was moving the ball and we were finishing runs,” Furlong said. “Our backs were getting extra yards and that was one of the areas where we felt pretty good.”

Clinton got moving behind a quarterback who handled the ball well and an offensive line that was willing to mix it up inside and come back for more.

“I wasn't shocked by that,” Furlong said. “On film, their physicality stood out. They had some athletes and some size. They were not typical of a school with less than 500 enrollment.”

So, that part should be useful to Geneseo, if the Leafs can improve some important things this week.

“Moline is typical for them: Solid and physical up front. They'll work in some play action. They'll be a challenge for us both physically and mentally,” said the coach.

“In the WB6, you step up. They'll have talent on the field. Are we ready to make that step? We've got a few days and we'll find out,” Furlong said.

Last year, Geneseo rushed for 300 yards and scored its first conference win over the Maroons in five tries with a last second field goal. That should be a confidence-builder for the Leafs, whose young memories might not include some pre-conference days wins over Moline.

“We think we're good enough to beat teams in the conference,” Furlong said. “But we have to execute and eliminate penalties, and play assignment football on defense.”

“So far, we've been matching pad level with opposing linemen,” the coach said. “We need to get under the other guy's pads and that means getting down.”

“We can get better, but we have to do it the right way,” Furlong said.

Moline comes in at 1-1. The Maroons were on a mission last week at Lisle Benet, after suffering five straight defeats to the Redwings.

It was a 14-14 game at halftime . . on the way to a 49-29 Benet victory.

The question for this week then: “How quickly can we improve?” said Geneseo's coach.

We'll find out Friday night.

Lady Leafs Top Ottawa, Fall To LP In Home Opener

September 5 - GHS Courts
Lady Leafs 3 Ottawa 2
Singles
O-Zulee Moreland defeated G-Erica DeDecker 6-4, 6-3
O-Yaquelin Hernandez-Solis defeated G-Annabelle Betcher 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
G-Madison Reade/Jenny Parsons defeated O-Rylee Harsted/Brooklyn Byone 7-5, 6-2
G-Addi Snodgrass/Lily Taylor defeated O-Gabby Cooper/Reese Purcell 6-2, 6-1
G-Kendyl Wassenhove/Stella Smith defeated O-Tessa Diaz/Laurel Fisher 6-0, 6-1

September 5 - GHS Courts
LaSalle-Peru 4 Lady Leafs 1
Singles
LP-Eva Cervantas defeated G-Erica DeDecker 6-1, 6-2
LP-Dagny Greer defeated G-Annabelle Betcher 6-4, 6-1

Doubles
LP-Grace Pecchio/Cali Mickley defeated G-Madison Reade/Jenny Parsons 6-1, 6-2
G-Addi Snodgrass/Lily Taylor defeated LP-Elena Leone/Izzy Pecchio
LP-Raleigh Leinger/Phoebe Shetterly defeated G-Kendyl Wassenhove/Stella Smith 6-4, 2-6, 10-8

Lady Leafs Drop A Tough One To Morton, Open WB6 Play With Huge Win In Sterling

September 4 - Morton High School
Morton 25-21, 21-25, 25-14 Lady Leafs
(Morton Placed 4th In The 2023 3A State Finals)
Digs: Kailee Williams 19
Assists: Katherine Barickman 25
Block Assists: Kendall Ellerbrock 5

Underclass Scores
Morton 25-17, 25-15 Sophomores
Morton 25-11, 25-9 Freshmen

September 5 - Sterling High School
Lady Leafs 25-18, 23-25, 25-22 Sterling
Kills: Kailee Williams 13, Elli Barickman 10, Lizzie Rapps 6
Digs: Ava DeSplinter 18, Williams 14, Rapps 9, Sydney Nelson 7
Aces: Williams 3, Katherine Barickman 1, Elli Barickman 1
Assists: Katherine Barickman 23
Blocks: Kendall Ellerbrock 2, Elli Barickman 2

Underclass Scores
Sophomores 25-15, 22-25, 25-22 Sterling
Sterling 19-25, 25-19, 25-13 Freshmen

Green Machine Wins In Wisconsin, WB6 Play Begins Next Friday

September 6 - Clinton High School
Green Machine 20 Clinton, WI 6

1st Quarter
G-Carter Holke 9 Yard Pass From Jackson McAvoy (Holke PAT) (7-0)

2nd Quarter
C-2 Yard Run (PAT Failed) (7-6)
G-Dylon DeBoef 1 Yard Run (Holke PAT) (14-6)
G-McAvoy 82 Yard Run (PAT Failed) (20-6)

3rd Quarter
No Scoring

4th Quarter
No Scoring

Western Big 6 play begins next Friday as Moline comes to Bob Reade Field. The Maroons will enter the game with a 1-1 record.
Week 1: Moline 41 Fenton (Rockwood Summit), Mo 40 (OT)
Week 2: Lisle (Benet Academy) 49 Moline 29

Leafs Win At Deer Valley, Come Up Short Against Moline

September 4 - Deer Valley
Maple Leafs 153, Byron 157, Rock Falls 172
t-1st: Bryson VanHoutte (37 / +1)
t-1st: Elijah Ford (37 / +1)
t-3rd: Kwin VanKerrebroeck (38 / +2)
t-8th: Drew Kelly (41 / +5)
12th: Ashton Veloz (43 / +7)
14th: Dylan Cotty (47 / +11)

JV 193, Rock Falls 216, Byron 240
1st: Brody Clementz (46 / +10)
2nd: Owen Parker (47 / +11)
3rd: Kellen VanKerrebroeck (48 / +12)
6th: Carter Dickey (52 / +16)
t-7th: Matt Johnson (53 / +17)
t-9th: Grady Bernahl (56 / +20)

September 5 - Country View GC
Moline 139 Maple Leafs 146
 2nd: Bryson VanHoutte (34 / -2)
5th: Kwin VanKerrebroeck (35 / -1)
6th: Elijah Ford (38 / +2)
7th: Ashton Veloz (39 / +3)
10th: Drew Kelly (43 / +7)
12th: Grady Bernahl (44 / +8)

Moline 158 JV 180
5th: Owen Parker (44 / +8)
t-6th: Kellen VanKerrebroeck (45 / +9)
t-6th: Bryce Nixon (45 / +9)
8th: Brody Clementz (46 / +10)
t-9th: Carter Dickey (47 / +11)
t-9th: Dylan Cotta (47 / +11)

GMS XC Invite Results, Ehlert Finishes 2nd, Wachtel 5th

7th Grade Boys
 2nd: Will Ehlert (12:05.40)
6th: Kyle Wirth (12:19.70)
9th: Henry Woodward (12:43.70)
12th: Declan Gillespie (13:05.70)
29th: Adler Vanopdorp (14:58.60)
52nd: Hunter Olson (17:59.70)
61st: Tatum Eiselstein (19:48.80)
70th: Lucas Fuelling (23:29.90)

7th Grade Girls
23rd: Scarlett Sunstrom (16:56.20)
29th: Hailey Olson (17:29.50)
32nd: Baylen Poffenberger (18:00.00)
36th: Aspen Znamenacek (18:05.70)
38th: Emily Hayes (18:13.80)

8th Grade Boys
29th: William Davis (14:08.00)
33rd: Novak Ryerson (14:144.10)
47th: Miles Curcuru (16:06.40)

8th Grade Girls
5th: Charlize Wachtel (13:50.30)
14th: Annika Brumbaugh (14:40.90)
19th: Faith Kuster (15:52.40)
37th: Genevieve Talley (17:13.70)
41st: Tylaiha Medina (17:34.20)

BRAKEdown - 'Enthusiastic' Leafs are Making Progress

By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current

The idea is to constantly improve, says Geneseo Football Coach Matt Furlong.

Did the Leafs improve during their 48-0 season-opening win over Chicago Comer?

“Absolutely,” Furlong said. “Defensively we at first were a little tentative out on the edge, but we got better,” the coach said.

Comer had the opening drive and it lasted almost half the first quarter. But it produced no points.

Furlong said Geneseo taking every snap under center, “gives us an advantage by wearing teams down,” and that was evident as the game pounded on.

Furlong said the Leafs eliminated some pre-snap problems that happened against Pleasant Valley in the previous week's scrimmage.

“Pleasant Valley is a good program and we knew any deficiencies we had would be exposed,” the coach said.

Furlong said taking on Pleasant Valley, “wasn't pretty at times but in the long run, it will help us,” he said. “They had some guys in their lines who are going to be college players.”

So this week, it's on (to) Wisconsin for someone new to us, Clinton, located nine miles east of Beloit.

“They're a week ahead of us on the schedule,” Furlong said. “They're a solid 1-1 team. They had a couple of guys out the first week,” he said. They were back last week in a win over Whitewater.

“They have been in and out of their playoffs the last several years,” Furlong said.

“They're a good matchup for us after Comer.”

The Geneseo coach took a look back at the summer off-season the Leafs had.

“We emphasize showing up consistently,” Furlong said. “By the end of summer, the guys had improved a lot. This fall, we picked up right where we left off.”

“This group has enthusiasm and wants to work hard,” the coach said. “They get after it and the more you put in, the better outcome you will get,” he said.

“I am happy with how we are progressing,” Furlong said.

A part of the offense you haven't seen from this team yet is the wing-T.

It's coming.

“None of the quarterbacks in our system had ever taken a snap from under center until now,” said the coach.

Come to think of it, Geneseo hasn't lined up in the wing-T in uhh . . .a while. . .

Are we all that old?

Well, I am.

But I think I'll recognize it when I see it again.

“The guys are enjoying learning it,” Furlong said.