Quincy's football team came into Geneseo with a reputation larger than a Macy's parade balloon – and deservedly so.
"We felt a lot of teams might go after Quincy, but when they get there, Quincy's numbers, the hype and all the sound might get the best of them," said Geneseo Coach Matt Furlong.
"We gave our guys a game plan which, if executed, could beat Quincy," he said.
"If executed" are important words.
The Leafs came out with their ears back and in attack mode. For a while, things went pretty well. Genseo trailed just 14-6 after one quarter.
But, twice in the second period, Geneseo drives into the red zone resulted in lost fumbles.
But what if the Leafs had finished those drives with touchdowns? They might have trailed just 28-27 at halftime, instead of 35-12.
I know, I know, "if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas."
The final, of course, was 55-18. The Leafs were one of just two teams this season – the other was Moline – to put up three scores against the Blue Devils.
Quincy did its thing. Quarterback Bradyn Allen hasn't thrown for fewer than 320 yards in a WB6 game this season, and he actually did a little better than that against the Leafs.
Quincy's fast, rangy receivers found open areas and Allen got them the football.
But the Leafs had some different schemes rigged up for star running back Jeraius Rice, Jr., and Furlong said he thinks jamming the running game – at least some – had positive impact. Quincy drew 10 penalty flags in the first half.
"Our guys came in Saturday morning believing what they were capable of," Furlong said.
"But they know they can't have turnovers and can't have mental breakdowns on defense. Had we been able to correct a couple of things right away, it would have been a different game at halftime," the coach said.
"That running back (Rice, Jr.) is special," Furlong said. "We threw an awful lot of stuff at them to try to slow him down."
Then there was Allen, operating behind a O-line that looked like the snow-capped front range of the Rockies.
Former Leafs coach and now TV announcer Denny Diericx said Quincy "had to be in my top five list of pre-playoff teams Geneseo has faced. And right near the top of that list at that," he said.
Leafs fullback Kolten Schmoll-Burton may not have had big yardage totals, but he did do some very tough running a against a very strong defense.
"Part of why I believe in the offense we run is that sometimes cornerbacks and safeties don't like coming up and running into that," Furlong said. "We're unique in the conference in how we run it."
Having seen what they may be capable of, are the Leafs ready to make a run? Starting with Rock Island on Friday, and extending into the playoffs?
"We can, if we execute," Furlong said.
Rock Island is 1-7, going winless deeper into a season than ever before finally conquering Galesburg.
The Rocks are fast. "Their quarterback can hurt you with his arm and his feet and they have a running back with exceptional speed," Furlong said.
This might be a game where the Leafs can play defense with their offense – by not letting the Rock Island offense be on the field. So far, the Rocky defense has yielded 37.6 points per game, last in the WB6.
A Geneseo win means a third straight appearance in the playoffs. "That extra time we get to practice is a huge benefit," Furlong said.
"When I was at Cary-Grove, the times we stayed in for three or four weeks really helped, especially our younger guys," he said.
Those of us who've been around the Geneseo program will tell you how much some of the Leaf teams just kept getting better through the playoffs.
"You want every week to be better, hoping that you'll peak," said Furlong.
