A quiet 6-0

Geneva's Connor Quinn carries the ball during a recent game against Glenbard South. The Vikings are 6-0 and have won 24 consecutive regular-season games.
(Herb Shenkin/For The Beacon-News)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Has anybody noticed the Geneva Vikings are undefeated again?

If it's possible for a state finalist to fly under the radar the following season, the Vikings have done so.

"We weren't projected to do as well as we've done this year," running back Michael Santacaterina said. "Last year we were probably the number one team all the way through the year in the area. I guess we've been underdogs since the start of the season - not so much now - but we kind of liked that feeling."

Part of it is because undefeated seasons feel like a foregone conclusion. The Vikings haven't lost a regular season game since Oct. 20, 2006. That equates to a 24-game winning streak, an impressive run that includes 18 straight wins in the Western Sun Conference.

The Vikings have come so far in the last decade, going from 0-9 in 1999 to the Class 7A title game in 2008, and a large part of that success has been defending Burgess Field.

The Vikings have won 13 straight regular season games and five straight playoff games at home and only two losses at the hands of rival Batavia in 2006 have marred their record in Geneva.

In over three seasons of play they are 24-2 at home, including the playoffs.

Another reason why there hasn't been as much hype surrounding the Vikings is because the team hasn't always been pretty in victory this season, and in the wake of one of the greatest rushing performances in state history by Michael Ratay last season, there is no one "star" to focus on.

Instead, the Vikings have relied on a dominant offensive line and a three-headed rushing attack that has produced 1,272 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Along with tight end Jack Delabar, seven players block along the line for the Vikings. Dan Carlson, Ben Humbert and Justin Craig are regulars, while Brett Willman and Jake Mills rotate at left guard and Brandon Prosek and Matt Springhorn rotate at right tackle.

Defensive tackle Frank Boenzi joins in on the fun as a lead back in the team's short-yardage package.

The combination of speedster Jay Graffagna (463 yards, 3 TDs) and punishing inside runners Santacaterina (300 yards, 13 TDs) and Connor Quinn (394 yards, 1 TD) has more than picked up where Ratay left off. And quarterback Brandon Beitzel (629 yards, 4 TDs) has developed enough to keep defenses honest.

"This year we're a little more balanced offensively," Craig said. "And we have to rely more on each other this year. We don't have a Mike Ratay to carry the load. It spreads things out."

With a sixth straight playoff appearance locked up following last week's win, the Vikings now turn toward wrapping up their third straight WSC title. A victory Friday over Rochelle (4-2, 2-2) would set up a likely title-deciding contest at Kaneland in Week 8.

But don't expect the Vikings to even know what will probably be at stake in two weeks. Before last week's 55-0 victory against DeKalb, coach Rob Wicinski let the team know not to take winning for granted and that every week is important.

Most of the players didn't even know they were on such a long winning streak, but what they do know is they don't want to be the first team in recent memory to go through a practice after a loss.

"We've never really experienced coach 'Wiz' after a loss and we never want to do that," Santacaterina said with a laugh. "We know every team is going to give us their best game. We have a target on our back pretty much and they're going to do everything they can to beat us and try and knock us off."