FOOTBALL FINAL: Geneva Fumbles to 47-21 Loss to Oswego

The game was supposed to be the battle of the young quarterbacks: Oswego freshman Steven Frank versus Geneva sophomore Dan Santacaterina—and the question was which team would make more mistakes.

But the Panthers pulled Frank in favor of junior Brett Wainwright—who was terrific—and the Vikings could do no right in the first half, fumbling and turning over the ball on every possession after its first, go-head touchdown.

It was a comedy of errors for the Vikings, who are off to the worst start in memory, and played with a running clock in the second half due to the 40-point slaughter rule.

The worst of it came at the end of the half, when the Vikings, finally near a touchdown, fumbled with seconds remaining. Oswego's Jamaal Richardson scooped it up and ran 95 yards for a Panther touchdown as the clock expired.

The Vikings simply were their own worst enemy, fumbling six times in all, and adding a bad snap for good measure.

"You have enough (trouble) playing one team," Coach Rob Wicinski said. "But if you play against two teams, you see the results. It’s just a basic fundamental: protecting the football."

Oswego is a very good football team, no doubt. But Friday wasn't much of a test.

Wainwright was super for the Panthers, rushing for key first downs and throwing two touchdown passes. Richardson returned two fumbles for touchdowns. The Vikings had five fumbles, all turnovers, in the first half alone, and were outscored 34-0 in the second quarter.

What did coach Wicinski tell the team at halftime?

"There’s no reset button, it’s not a video game," he said. "The game goes on. You can’t start 0-0. Still, it was about growth. I’ve got a lot of green; I got serious green on this team. We told them, you need to get better at what you do. Do the things that you’re being coached, and hopefully, we’ll see a lot of progress."

The Vikings played a higher caliber of football in the second half, scoring with 9:11 showing in the third quarter after a 54-yard Bobby Hess breakaway and a 7-yard Hess touchdown run. Geneva scored again in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass from Santacaterina to Pace Temple.

"Yeah, we got our butts whipped, but I’ve felt worse coming off of a 1-point loss, I guess," Wicinski said. "We just never gave ourselves a chance. I know I’m going to see film, and I’m going to see a lot of positives. Now we’ve got data for making some choices down the line."

The good news is that Hess ran for 143 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Santacaterina acquitted himself well, completing 8 of 14 passes for 104 yards and one touchdown.

"I think Santa was very consistent," Wicinski said. "I was really pleased with the quarterback. Everybody was pointing at him, and next thing you know it was the runningbacks who were putting the ball down on the ground.

"I told this quarterback: This is what you call experience, good or bad. And this is what this team needs: It needs experience. Well, you got some tonight, that’s for sure. A good dose of it."

Next week, the experience continues, as the Vikings travel to Wheaton North.

SCORE BY QUARTER

• Geneva: 7-0-7-7—21
• Oswego: 13-34-0-0—47

GENEVA STATS TO COME

Rushing

• #6 T.J. Miller — 68 yards, 5 carries
• #7 Dan Santacaterina —  -9 yards, 3 carries
• #22 Joe Boenzi — 20 yards, 5 carries
• #32 Bobby Hess — 143 yards, 17 carries, 2 TDs

Total: 226 yards, 32 carries, 2 TDs

Passing

• #7 Santacaterina — 8-of-14 for 105 yards, 0 INT, 1 TD

Receiving

• #8 Pace Temple —2 catches, 36 yards, 1 TD
• #11 Kevin Curtain —3 catches, 27 yards
• #15 Kyle Brown —3 catches, 44 yards

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