Kane County notes: Finnegan Weppner, Michael Rumoro get chance in limelight for Geneva in win over Batavia

Friday’s 30-7 victory over Batavia was anything but ordinary for Geneva.

After entering the Week 6 game averaging 11.5 yards per play, as well as only running no more than 45 plays in a game, the Vikings ran 57 offensive plays against the Bulldogs and averaged just 6.5 yards per play.

But while it wasn’t ordinary, it was ultimately what helped Geneva get its first win in the rivalry since 2010.

“We’d lost 13 times in the biggest rivalry game, and we heard about it a lot,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. “So to see them compete and perform, I’m so happy for them because they worked so hard this week. They wanted it so bad. And when you go out there and actually do it, it’s going to be a memory we have together for a very long time.”

Another unordinary fact from the game were the main contributors on offense for the Vikings. After the past two weeks saw back-to-back three-touchdown performances from wide receiver Talyn Taylor, fellow wide receiver Finnegan Weppner ended the game with three scores, all coming in the second half.

While Weppner has been overshadowed by the Georgia commit for the most part, he’s been putting up some big numbers for the Vikings. The senior currently has 17 catches for 408 receiving yards and nine touchdowns through six games.

“I think on a lot of teams, Finnegan would be the No. 1 receiver,” Thorgesen said. “He’s a very talented player.”

While Taylor saw his fair share of catches, including a 7-yard score in the first quarter, Thorgesen knew targeting him would open up the passing game for receivers like Weppner and Bennett Konkey, which ultimately ended up being the case.

“Batavia ended up rolling a safety onto Talyn early on and we saw some one-on-one coverage, and you can’t do that with our guys that we have on the edge,” Thorgesen said. “We have three very good receivers, and our quarterback made some big-time throws in big-time situations.”

It was also a big night for Michael Rumoro, who had just his second 100+ rushing effort of the season against the Bulldogs. While he didn’t find the end zone, Rumoro managed to rack up 200 rushing yards on a Batavia defense that had allowed just 25 per game in the first five weeks of the season.

“He’s a tough runner, and has a tremendous balance for a running back,” Thorgesen said. “He has a burst that’s very tough to deal with, and he’s a weapon to have, especially when you have guys like we have out on the edge.”

The Vikings also moved to the top of the DuKane Conference with the win, a spot they have never held this late into the season before. Their 6-0 record also marks their best start to a season since 2015 where they won seven straight to start the season before finishing 9-2.

St. Charles North moves crosstown winning streak to five games

While one of the Tri-City rivalry streaks came to an end in Week 6, another one continued in dominant fashion.

Thanks to a five-touchdown performance from quarterback Ethan Plumb, St. Charles North walked away from it’s crosstown rivalry game against St. Charles East with a 42-7 victory. The win bought the North Stars’ winning streak in the rivalry to five games, which is their longest streak against the Saints and second longest in the rivalry, with the Saints winning six straight between 2008-13.

Since SCN’s Week 4 loss to Batavia, the four-year starter has been on fire, throwing for seven touchdowns and running in two more, while also completing 72% of his passes over the past two weeks.

“It doesn’t matter who we play – at the end of the day, it’s not the team we’re playing, it’s the team in the mirror,” Plumb said. “We know that we’re as good as how we perform, and the more we perform, the better we are. If we do our thing, the performance will speak for itself.”

The win brought them to 5-1 for the season, which more than likely gives them a playoff spot, as well as 3-1 in DuKane Conference play. And with teams like Glenbard North and Lake Park, which are a combined 1-7 in conference play, coming up in the future, the North Stars have a fine chance of heading into the final game of the season against Geneva with just one loss and a chance at their second conference title in three years, or at least a share of it.

Batavia, St. Charles East look for rebound after rivalry losses

The teams that lost rivalry games will have a chance to bounce back with a game against each other in Week 7 when the Bulldogs visit the Saints.

For Batavia, it’ll be looking to get the offense back on track after being limited to only seven points and 213 offensive yards against Geneva, which are both season lows. One player who will surely want to bounce back is running back Nathan Whitwell, who was held to just 34 rushing yards after running for over 100 in each of the first five games of the season.

The defense will also be looking to get back on track after allowing 30 or more points for the first time since its loss to Mt. Carmel in the 2023 Class 7A state semifinals. It also allowed over 100 yards rushing for the first time this season, and will face another tough running back in Xander Salazar in Week 7.

Meanwhile, St. Charles East will be looking to do a similar thing after only finding the end zone once against St. Charles North. The Saints managed to work the ball into the red zone on multiple occasions, but were denied points on all but one attempt.

The Saints were without starting quarterback JT Padron and wide receiver Sheko Gjokaj in the game, so adding them back would be helpful in getting points on the board. But against a defense as tough as Batavia’s, it will definitely prove to be a challenge.

Marmion, St. Francis enter four-win club

While four wins is in no way a guarantee to extending a team’s season into the playoffs, getting to the mark with three weeks left to play is definitely a good place to be to try and make a run for extra football.

In Week 6, two local teams achieved this feat with some big victories against tough opponents.

Probably the most shocking of the two teams is Marmion, which secured a 21-7 victory at home over Marian Catholic thanks to an iron-clad defense that only gave up 38 yards after allowing an early score. The Cadets’ four wins under first-year coach Adam Guerra doubles their win total from a season ago.

Another team that got to the four-win mark was St. Francis, which relied on sophomore running back Tivias Caldwell to help it to a 21-13 road victory over IC Catholic. The win also stopped a two-game skid, with the Spartans suffering a blowout loss to St. Rita in Week 3 and a heartbreaker on the final play to Providence Catholic.

While those two teams managed to make their way to within one win from an almost guaranteed playoff berth, two teams failed to make that jump to the five-win mark in Week 6. Burlington Central saw its four-game win streak snapped after giving up two fourth quarter touchdowns in a 21-18 loss to Jacobs. Also dropping its Week 6 match was Kaneland, which suffered its second straight loss after falling to Sycamore 35-7.