Class 7A state quarterfinals, 3 p.m. today
Geneva offense
It all centers around junior tailback Michael Ratay. He is up to 30 total touchdowns in 11 games, 27 rushing. He has run for 1,593 yards on 245 carries and has carried the load in the playoffs. Senior quarterback Mike Mayszak got back on track with a big game last week against St. Charles East. He has thrown for 1,410 yards and 17 touchdowns with only two interceptions. His main target is 6-foot-6 senior Joe Augustine (36 catches, 759 yards, nine touchdowns). Junior tailback and kicker Sean Grady is second behind Ratay in scoring, thanks in large part to his 42 extra points.
East St. Louis offense
Sophomore Courtney Molton and freshman Vincent Arterbridge split carries pretty evenly throughout the season until Molton broke out against Moline last week with 233 yards rushing. He is up to 1,182 yards on only 95 carries, an average of 12.4 a carry, and 14 scores. Arterbridge averages 8.6 yards a carry (975 yards on 114 carries) with a team-high 15 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Detchauz Wray can make plays with his feet, but does most of his damage through the air. He has 1,943 yards passing with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His top targets are juniors Terry Hawthorne (39 catches, 934 yards, nine touchdowns) and Kraig Appleton (38 catches, 850 yards, seven touchdowns).
Geneva defense
The linebackers have not gotten as much credit as a unit as they probably deserve, but the team’s top three tacklers are linebackers, led by junior middle linebacker Brennan Quinn’s 115 stops. Jordan Boser has 80 tackles and has caught three touchdown passes on goal-line situations. Trevor Hyslop has 72 tackles and four sacks. Sophomore Frank Boenzi has emerged as one of the top defensive linemen in the area, leading the team with six sacks. Senior Jake Conforti is recovered from a severe knee injury, leading the secondary with four interceptions. The unit will have to show how it can handle the Flyers’ speed, the likes of which Vikings has never seen.
East St. Louis defense
Senior defensive lineman Brandon Harold is a fearsome physical specimen at 6-foot-7, 275 pounds. He leads the team with five sacks and has 75 tackles. The leading tackler is fellow defensive lineman Nicholas Beaver, a senior with 91 stops. Hawthorne doubles as the team’s best defensive back with three interceptions on the season. Yet another sophomore, Demond Hunt, is the team’s top linebacker. There is considerably more experience on this side of the ball than the offensive side, and the massive defensive line could cause Geneva problems.
What Geneva has to do to win
East St. Louis will turn the ball over on occasion, in large part because of the inexperience of its skill position players. Geneva has to take advantage of those opportunities because of the Flyers’ big-play ability that can turn the game around at any point. The Vikings are banking on the fact East St. Louis probably has not faced a defense as hard-hitting as theirs. If they can get pressure on Wray and force him out of his comfort zone, that would be a big help. Ratay needs to be himself on offense. He’s proven that he can make big plays regardless of the style of defense he faces. But, the speed factor the Flyers bring to the table cannot be discounted. A win would put the Vikings in the state semifinals for the third time in four years.
What East St. Louis has to do to win
The Flyers are the masters of the big play, averaging nearly 10 yards a rush as a team. Even if Geneva is able to dominate the time of possession, the Flyers can wipe that away in one play. Usually the amount of underclassmen on the offensive side of the ball would be a problem, but both Geneva coach Rob Wicinski and Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said that Arterbridge, Molton and Wray are so special that age does not appear to be a factor. Defensively, the key is the same for any team facing Geneva: stop Ratay. Mayszak has had a solid season in his first year at quarterback, but forcing him to win the game as opposed to Ratay is probably the best course of action. History is on the Flyers’ side. They have won six state championships and have finished second three times, and Geneva is the team that will spend 5 hours on a bus before the game.
Paul Johnson’s prediction: Geneva 27, East St. Louis 24