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.
