Kane County notes: Geneva’s Bennett Konkey emerges as new threat both as both a returner and wide out

Sophomore Bennett Konkey is definitely not the first person people think of when talking about the wide receiver room at Geneva, especially when sharing a locker room with players like Georgia commit Talyn Taylor or Finnegan Weppner.

But after his performance against Wheaton Warrenville-South, he showed he certainly could be.

The sophomore finished Friday’s game with four receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown during the Vikings’ 45-31 victory over the Tigers in their conference opener.

“We have some good weapons, and sometimes you don’t know which kid is going to step up,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. “The way they were playing certain coverages and shading in certain people, Bennett had a humongous game for us, and to see a sophomore do that is great to see.”

The big game can be attributed to the Tigers focusing their attention on both Taylor and Weppner, who each had two catches for 29 yards in the game. With the defense’s attention elsewhere, Thorgesen knew Konkey – a state qualifier in the 100-meter dash as a freshman – could use his speed to have a big game.

“We knew that our other two receivers were big names to be targeted, so we told him that he’s going to have games like this,” Thorgesen said. “He’s a burner, and it was really good to see him get a lot of action.”

That speed has not only helped the sophomore as a wide receiver, but also as a valuable kickoff returner for the Vikings as well. After being down 7-3 and trailing for the first all season, the sophomore fielded a kickoff at his own 15-yard line and took it 85 yards for a touchdown to put Geneva up for good.

It’s not the only time he’s done it. During the opening kickoff against Larkin to start the season, Konkey took the ball 80 yards to the house to give the Vikings an early advantage in an eventual blowout victory.

St. Charles North’s Aidan McClure keeps hot start going

It’s been a good couple of weeks for St. Charles North linebacker Aidan McClure.

After turning in an absurd stat line against Crete-Monee in Week 2 – 13 tackles, two fumble recoveries, a 45-yard pick-6, a blocked punt and two tackles for loss – it was hard to think he could match it.

But sure enough, he did.

In the North Stars’ 31-10 victory over Wheaton North, McClure finished with 14 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a 32-yard pick-6.

“Aidan is an animal,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said after their 50-26 win over Crete-Monee. “He is such a hard worker and great leader. He was on the varsity as a sophomore and deserves to be a captain as a junior. He plays with great spirit.”

McClure currently leads the area in tackles with 36 and is also second in interceptions with three, trailing only Geneva’s Dane Turner (four). With a tough schedule ahead against Batavia in Week 4 and WW South in Week 5, McClure will be a player to watch against some offensive-minded teams.

Week 3: The week of the tri-city running back

Over the first two weeks of play for the tri-city teams, the storylines have mainly been focused on the passing attack of teams, from Tony Chahino and Talyn Taylor threatening the skies for Geneva, to JT Padron bringing a new type of offense to St. Charles East.

But in Week 3, it’s no secret who took the spotlight on offense around the area – the running backs.

In some cases, it was a back who had already shown his offensive prowess having another standout game. Batavia’s Nathan Whitwell had his third 100-yard outing in three attempts, rushing for 204 yards and picking up three touchdowns in a 56-6 victory over Lake Park. He now has 539 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, already eclipsing his yardage from a season ago.

Also providing a solid outing in back-to-back weeks was St. Charles North’s Joell Holloman. After a multi-touchdown performance against Crete-Monee, the senior improved on it against Wheaton North with 130 yards on the ground and 56 receiving to go with two scores.

In the other two cases, it was the first time where the tailbacks got to shine on the offense.

That couldn’t have been more of the case for St. Charles East’s Xander Salazar. After most of the offense ran through quarterback JT Padron in the first two weeks, Salazar had a breakout game against Glenbard North, rushing for 130 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-6 victory over the Panthers.

The same could be said for Geneva’s Michael Rumoro. While his 83 yards rushing and touchdown were great, the senior tailback found most of his success in the receiving department, where he had 117 yards, two plays of over 40 yards and added a touchdown to get him to 200 scrimmage yards on the day.

Kaneland, St. Francis stay perfect after impressive showings

Outside of the tri-city squads, both Kaneland and St. Francis continued their hot streaks to start the season with Week 3 victories.

The more shocking outcome of the two – and maybe even the most across the state of Illinois – was St. Francis’ 35-21 victory over defending Class 8A champion Loyala during the Ramblers’ first home game. The win moves the Spartans to their third 3-0 start since 2018.

Leading the way for the Spartans was quarterback Brady Palmer, who went 15-for-22 passing for 192 yards and two TDs, also carrying the ball for 87 yards and two additional scores.

Kaneland’s win was a bit more lopsided. The Knights picked up a dominant 42-7 victory over DeKalb, which helped them earn their first 3-0 start since 2014, when they went on to finish the season 9-2.