By Keith Brake
Geneseo Current
Geneseo had just beaten Sterling 31-10, and it was BIG!
You could tell by the body language of the Maple Leafs football players, during and especially after the game. All positive . . . forward, like the slash on the Buffalo Bills' helmets.
They were airborne! Never mind their ground-bound reputation. They positively flew over to their victory bell to officially open the celebration.
“It was an exciting night,” said Geneseo Coach Matt Furlong. “I'm so proud of these kids and coaches.”
“On defense we played to the level we thought we could. We didn't allow a defensive touchdown,” Furlong said.
Sterling's TD came on a kickoff return. The other points were from a field goal. This from a Sterling team averaging a bit over 35 points a game coming in. But it also was an offense without a senior among the starters.
“Our offensive staff spent a lot of time breaking things down. The guys absorbed a lot, but really it was a matter of the guys just going out and executing,” he said.
“The atmosphere was fantastic. It was playoff game energy!”
While we're on that subject, the win was Geneseo's fifth of the season, which makes them playoff eligible. Should the Leafs win one or both remaining regular season games, it will enhance their seeding in post-season play.
But Friday's win was about more than playoffs. It was about at least a possible reversal of what Sterling started doing to Geneseo in 2015, beating the Leafs, often in one-sided fashion.
Geneseo's last win over Sterling was in 2014. They didn't play in 2020, but Sterling's win streak over the Leafs stood at nine games when they teed it up last week.
That's a lot of frustration and hurt pride building up against the dam.
It's true the Leafs came up with a few different looks for Sterling, on both sides of the football, on Friday.
“But, it came down to trusting the guy next to you,” Furlong said. “Our coaches and seniors have been 'bought in' for a while. But we took another major step with that win,” said the coach.
“We even are starting to get that 'buy-in at younger levels,” Furlong said. “Our seniors have been passing it on to our four ball boys. And I couldn't help notice how excited they all were.”
Remember, those younger boys haven't been around long enough to hear a big adult crowd really roar. Well, they have now and they want more! So do the rest of us.
“Things are going in the right direction,” Furlong said.
The exclamation point Friday was when Geneseo fullback Mark Nelms scored a touchdown – mostly untouched – from about 12 yards out on a fullback smash.
Even that had meeting in this rivalry.
Students and community members ran out to the victory bell to share the moment with Geneseo's players. And they stayed for a time. Furlong said he spotted former Leaf great Wayne Strader carrying his “beat Sterling!” sign by the bell.
“I'll bet it was 45 minutes to an hour before people started wanting to leave,” Furlong said.
People want to make good times last, especially during these uncertain times.
ALLEMAN GAME – At the time of this writing, the status of Friday's Alleman game was uncertain. Tentatively, as of this Sunday night writing the game is on. Alleman had just 11 players healthy for Moline and forfeited last week's scheduled game.
However, several Pioneers were on injury protocol and will play if they get clearance – which we may learn on Monday.
