Georgia commit Talyn Taylor hauls in 3 touchdown passes in Geneva’s 1st-round win

GENEVA – All of Geneva’s stars performed at a high level Nov. 2.

The Vikings opened the Class 6A playoffs with a resounding 49-7 rout over Amundsen in the first round.

Senior wide receiver Talyn Taylor, a five-star recruit committed to Georgia, caught three touchdown passes.

Senior quarterback Anthony Chahino, in his first year behind center, tossed five touchdown passes.

Senior running back Michael Rumoro scored on a 3-yard run and senior wide receiver Finnegan Weppner caught a 63-yard touchdown pass.

Sophomore wide receiver Bennett Konkey had a 49-yard touchdown reception.

Geneva (9-1) will host Burlington Central (8-2) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the second round.

The stars on offense added to their impressive highlight reels against Amundsen and the defense pitched a shutout until the final minutes.

But the unsung heroes for the Vikings this season have been a unit that added another strong performance Nov. 2 in only one half of play. The starting offensive line of left tackle William Anthony, left guard Joseph Pettit, center Cameron Ziegler, right guard James Bucholz and right tackle Nicholas Elliott will be one of the key factors that determine whether the Vikings can advance to Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium for the Class 6A state final Nov. 30.

Pettit, who also plays on the defensive line, is a three-year starter along with Bucholz.

“We have four returning starters from last year, so that helped,” Pettit said. “We had a rough ending last year. We didn’t want to feel that again, so we worked hard in the offseason training and being a unit that we know this team can rely on this season. We’ve shown that. Our line has been doing awesome. Nick Elliott has stepped up. We wanted this to be the heart of the team.”

Geneva coach Troy Thorgesen, a record-breaking All-State quarterback at Kaneland and a defensive back at Northern Illinois, clearly understands the importance of his offensive line in the Vikings’ quest to win the 6A title.

“We’ve had a couple of guys that are three-year starters in the line that are workers,” Thorgesen said. “We always say we will go as far as our line takes us. It’s the hardest position to play in football. They have to be all five guys together. They work so hard. Those guys have carried us. We’ve run the ball really well all year. The position is really important. When they do it well, another guy has success. We have five guys who work hard. They are a big reason for our success.”

Early in the third quarter, the starting five all sat down on a bench to watch some film on one of the two TVs. With the set not working properly, Bucholz tried to fix the screen.

That might have been the only flaw in Geneva’s victory.

“We got it working, so, yeah,” Bucholz said while laughing and smiling. “We had some tough losses last year that created the drive and motivation to hit the gym. We practically lived in the gym. We created a bond. That’s why we’re so cohesive. Everyone has stepped up. It all starts with us. All the eyes not on us, but on the receivers, quarterbacks and running backs, but it’s our jobs every week to watch more film and get together and step up and level up each week.”

A former fullback and linebacker, Chahino easily stepped into the quarterback role this season thanks to the help from his veteran O-line. He had ample time to pick apart Amundsen’s secondary.

“The offseason we really took that Cary-Grove loss really deep and promised to work our heart and tail off and work as a group,” Chahino said.

Taylor cemented his five-star status earned earlier in the week with another big performance. Taylor had eight receptions for 122 yards.

Amundsen had no answer for Taylor.

“He’s obviously a stud,” Thorgesen said. “He’s one of the better players in the state. Anytime he touches the ball, it’s electric. In the playoffs, you want to give your best players a chance to make plays. You have to feed him and see what he can do. I’m very proud of him. He had a great game.”