Coach Matt Furlong said he has been looking forward to the Sterling game since he signed on with Geneseo.
“They're very well-coached,” he said, at least three times during our post-game interview.
“They ran a defensive scheme against us we haven't seen, Furlong said. “We made some adjustments, then we started to move.”
But, it took a while, during which time Sterling built a 13-0 halftime lead.
Sterling won, 13-6. I'm sure you're aware that means something positive was happening on Geneseo's side of the ball in the second half.
A long run set up a short touchdown run for Sterling's first quarter score, but the Golden Warriors missed the PAT kick. Which didn't turn out to be important, but it could have been.
The Warriors completed at least a half-dozen bubble screens out to the boundaries. They didn't lead to much in and of themselves, but they might have helped to set up Sterling's second quarter score.
That was an 82-yard bomb down the sideline. Quarterback Drew Nettleton caught the Leafs in single coverage and dropped a dime on Kaedon Phillips, his top receiver.
That made it 13-0 with 6:33 left in the half.
After that, an ever-so-subtle change settled in.
The Leafs started getting positive yardage – first down runs on zone plays - from fullback Kolten Schmoll-Burton. But, the Leafs weren't able to string those kinds of gains together the rest of the half.
Note that the Leafs outscored Sterling 6-0 the rest of the game.
“There's a learning curve that comes with our offense,” Furlong said.
Leaf quarterback Jackson McAvoy had a Sterling surge roll over him on attempted option plays.
“As a blocker, that makes you start thinking,” Furlong said. “Then, you tend to come off the ball high which slows you down. We have to learn to stay locked in,” he said.
Geneseo didn't complete a pass through three quarters.
On fourth-and-12 from Sterling's 42, quarterback Jackson McAvoy ran play action and found Kye Weinzierl open in the left flat.
“Kye made a nice catch and made a good run after it,” Furlong said.
The play set up a short run by Schmoll-Burton for Geneseo's touchdown, which made it 13-6 with 3:12 left in the game. The Golden Warriors blocked the PAT kick, and scoring was complete.
Big lesson learned: “Make quicker in-game adjustments on the field, based on what the opponent is doing,” said Geneseo's coach.
“Ain't education a wonderful thing?” Red Skelton's Clem Kadiddlehopper character used to say.
It's the delayed gratification we're looking for..a lifetime of learning.
“Well fellas, fellas, it's the desired procedure” the late, great Geneseo coach and teacher, John McCormick, said, on a daily basis.
So now, it's homecoming, with Dolton Thornridge coming to Bob Reade Field on Friday night.
Thornridge? Think basketball, at the same time as Kewanee had a couple of state-class teams.
Since then, I've lost track of the south suburban Falcons, who are just about 100 students larger than Geneseo in enrollment.
They were 0-9 last year, but took a 3-2 record into Friday's matchup against Crete-Monee, arguably one of the state's best programs. Crete-Monee won, 67-0.
“Thornridge has some explosive athletes,” Furlong said. “They have talent enough to be a problem, when they're executing. When they're clicking they look like a good team.”
Geneseo's coach said homecoming is about as “much of a distraction as you let it be.”
You need to think of the football game as the centerpiece of homecoming, he said.
“On the whole, Sterling was our best defensive effort of the season,” Furlong said. “We executed well.”
“Overall, I am happy for the progress we're making, both on film and in practice,” Furlong said. “Our guys are seeing things, especially our younger ones.”
PLAYOFF BOUND?
At 3-3, Geneseo sits two wins away from being assured a spot in the post-season, and those extra reps in practice would be good for the program in its first year under Furlong.
That good thing is within reach.
