It's nice, isn't it, when you can drive into Chicago and back and be able to say, “We got just what we went for”?
The Maple Leafs did exactly that on Saturday, Nov. 2, beating first round playoff opponent Chicago Sullivan, 42-0.
The record will show that the #16 seed (Leafs) in the Class 4A northern Illinois bracket took down the #1 seed, a 9-0 Sullivan team that counted 22 uniformed players with seven two-way starters, so make no mistake, this was no upset.
We've discussed why in an earlier column – but we can say it was Geneseo's 77th overall playoff win – and the first one since 2015.
So, let's call it . . . historic.
“I'm happy for the kids,” said Geneseo Coach Matt Furlong.
The Leafs had their 42-0 lead by halftime, then finished the entire second half with JV players and freshmen. Clearly, they played well, too.
“Overall we executed well,” Furlong said. “We had some big plays where we got out to the perimeter and set the edge,” the coach said. “We hit a couple of downfield shots, too.”
“It went how it should have. We wanted to play physical and fast and knew that if we did, things should go well.”
Now, it's on to round two but back to Chicago for something completely different: DePaul College Prep, a Chicago Catholic League team.
The Rams are 7-3, with the losses to Wheaton St. Francis, Lisle Benet Academy and a national name, Loyola Academy. Except for Loyola, most DePaul games have been close.
The Rams have been able to put points on the board.
“They use a spread offense with a lot of stuff and formations,” Furlong said.
“The quarterback is dynamic; moves and scrambles well,” said the coach. “It's a quality offense.”
“Defensively, I don't think they've played many teams like us that get the snap from under center. We would like to establish the run early and hope it takes them a while to figure out our option.”
“When we get our running game established, it it gives us big play capability,” Furlong said.
“Against a quality team like this, we need great preparation on pre-snap things – making sure we're aligned right, and know and understand our assignments. If we do this, it will allow us to play 'free' at the snap,” the coach said.
“And that will be huge,” he added.
“Defensively, we need to eliminate the big play,” he said. “Controlling the football and eliminating turnovers will help that.”
Furlong said last week “was another good week of development for our players.”
And this will undoubtedly be another one. These extra weeks together after the regular season are simply invaluable to a football program.
THE GAME – kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at DePaul College Prep's on-campus stadium. The school, with an enrollment of 833, is at 3333 N. Rockwell St., on Chicago's near north side.
“I think we drove right past it on our way up to the Sullivan game,” Furlong said. The stadium, not too far west of Lake Michigan, is relatively new, with a stated capacity of 1,800.
Last week, Leafs fans traveled well and greatly out-numbered those cheering for Sullivan. Geneseo TV announcer Denny Diericx mentioned that a Geneseo crew had to be recruited to work the chains . . .and, my estimate of 8,000 seats at Winnemac Stadium was grossly overstated, but it was plenty big and it was a nice setting for a high school game in Chicago, just like Coach Furlong said it was.
