Talyn Taylor’s big second half sparks Geneva past Glenbard North

GENEVA – Geneva’s 38-12 defeat of Glenbard North was nowhere as easy as the final score made it appear.

The visiting Panthers led 9-0 after one quarter and trailed just 14-12 at halftime.

The Vikings got their offense on track in the second half behind quarterback Anthony Chahino and receiver Talyn Taylor. Taylor took two short passes from Chahino and turned them into long touchdowns, and Michael Rumoro ran for a score as the Vikings improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the DuKane Conference.

“Credit to Glenbard North, they came out and really smacked us early on,” said Geneva coach Boone Thorgeson. “But I told our kids at halftime that we had the confidence we were going to win this game. There was no finger-pointing. Adversity brings out the best in a team. So we just had to stay calm, fix the mistakes we were making and play our style of football. In the second half, I thought we really hunkered down and did that defensively and then offensively as well.”

Chahino and Taylor were efficient. Taylor caught just four passes, but they went for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. Chahino finished with 6 completions for 247 yards and four TDs. Finnegan Weppner accounted for the fourth touchdown reception.

Geneva outscored the visitors 24-0 in the second half.

“Us captains took action,” said Taylor, who set the school record for touchdown receptions with his second of the evening. “We talked to the team, we told everybody to take deep breaths, we told everybody to do their jobs and everything would be OK. We came out after halftime and we dominated.”

Jayden Hodgdon added a 30-yard field goal for the Vikings.

The first quarter was all Glenbard North. After stopping the Vikings on downs on their opening possession, the Panthers took advantage of a short field with a 6-play drive culminating in Lucas Kramer’s 16-yard TD run.

After a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Panthers had great field possession. The offense couldn’t capitalize as the drive stalled at the 2-yard line. But Geneva’s first play resulted in a tackle in the backfield for a safety and a 9-0 lead.

An interception by James Bucholz on the Panthers’ first play after the free kick-started the momentum swing. Four plays later, Chahino found Taylor in the corner of the end zone to get the Vikings on the board.

On the Vikings’ next possession, it took just two plays to grab the lead for good, with Weppner hauling in Chahino’s pass for a 51-yard score.

Donato Gatses finished with 102 yards on the ground for Glenbard North (2-3, 0-3). Zechariah Morris did a bit of everything for the Panthers, with 54 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards and a 56-yard completion.

With Geneva leading 17-12, Taylor took a swing pass from Chahino, turned the corner and raced up the sideline for a 70-yard score. The Vikings’ final score came when Taylor grabbed a short pass over the middle and simply outraced the secondary to the end zone. That play covered 77 yards.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240927/prep-football/geneva-rallies-in-second-half-to-knock-off-glenbard-north/