Geneva’s two special teams plays turn the tide, ride wave past Burlington Central

GENEVA – Burlington Central had all the momentum early in the third quarter in its Class 6A second-round playoff game at Geneva.

Coming out of a 21-21 halftime tie, the Rockets took the second-half kickoff and drove right down the field to score and take a one-touchdown lead.

[ Photos: Burlington Central vs. Geneva ]

Geneva then made two huge plays to completely turn the tide.

First, Vikings senior wide receiver Talyn Taylor returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to tie the game.

Geneva then recovered an onside kick by Owen Homewood and scored again just a couple of minutes later to take a one-touchdown lead.

The third-seeded Vikings rode that wave to a 42-28 win.

Geneva (10-1) will travel to play Lake Forest (9-2) in a state quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“We just played a very, very good football team,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said about sixth-seeded Burlington Central. “We struggled in the first half but that had a lot to do with the players they have over there and the type of team they are. We had a really tough task tonight.

“It’s a game of swings and we got the momentum back.”

Burlington Central played a strong game but couldn’t rally after the Vikings took the lead.

“I thought we gave them all we could,” Rockets coach Brian Iossi said. “I would have liked to see a little bit more out of us in the second half on offense, but if three plays (Geneva) made go a different way, it’s a different ballgame.”

Geneva scored three times in the first half on touchdown passes from quarterback Tony Chahino to the Georgia-bound Taylor (60 yards) and Finnegan Weppner (85 yards) and a 4-yard rush by Chahino.

Burlington Central matched that output with 2- and 3-yard TD runs from senior Zach Samaan and a 6-yard scoring pass from quarterback Jackson Alcorn to Caden West.

The Rockets took the lead after halftime on Samaan’s third touchdown, this one from a yard away.

That set the stage for Taylor’s long runback on the kickoff and Homewood’s recovery of the onside kick. Vikings running back Michael Rumoro then scored on a 10-yard counter play to give Geneva its first lead of the game.

“I just felt like it was the right time to do it,” Thorgesen said of the gutsy onside kick call. “We were struggling to stop them and it was going back and forth and we thought we needed a little spark.”

Geneva grabbed a two-touchdown lead on a 20-yard fourth-quarter run by Rumoro.

The Rockets (8-3) drove deep into Vikings territory late in the final period but a 24-yard sack by junior defensive end Lex Griffith ended the threat.

“I just knew I had to do it,” Griffith said of his clutch defensive play. “I was in the moment and I made a play.

“At halftime, we knew we weren’t playing our kind of football. We came out (in the third quarter) and played like we know how to play.”

Taylor finished the game with six catches for 128 yards for Geneva.

After the tough loss, Iossi lauded the effort and commitment of his senior players throughout their careers.

“This group brought us to a new level,” Iossi sid. “Seven years ago, we were a program that was in the dumps and we were 4-5 the last two years. Now to get to 8-2 (before Saturday’s game) and win a playoff game for the first time in 20 years is a credit to them, all their work and effort.

“We wouldn’t be where we are without them.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241109/prep-football/genevas-big-third-quarter-plays-deny-burlington-central-playoff-upset/