G-K pummels North Boone

GENOA -- After Genoa-Kingston's ugly 43-16 drubbing of North Boone on Friday, Cogs coach Bill McCarty wanted to underscore the word team.

G-K's offensive and defensive lines dominated play on both sides of the ball as Robby Thurlby, Craig Billington and Austin Bankson each rushed for a pair of touchdowns.

The effort helped the Cogs (3-1) bounce back from their first loss of the season, and also showed that they have other weapons in their offensive arsenal besides running back Garrett Johnsen, who was lost for the season with broken toes.

"We still have a lot of kids that want to play that are some good, skilled athletes," McCarty said. "They knew they had to step it up and they did. That's what we work for."

G-K scored first in an ugly contest marred by 29 combined penalties by the teams, as well as breaks in play when two North Boone players had to leave the game in ambulances.

Chris Camargo rushed for 11 yards and a key first-down on a punt fake to help set up Thurlby's early second-quarter scoring run. Billington rushed for a pair of scores and Bankson added a tally as the Cogs took a 29-0 lead into halftime.

But the key for G-K was on defense, shutting down North Boone quarterback Alex Albrecht. The Vikings signal caller went through one first-half stretch in which he threw nine straight incomplete passes. Also a running threat, Albrecht was able to do little damage with his legs.

"Our scout team and coaches did a good job preparing us for this game," said G-K senior defensive back Matt Volkening, who picked off Albrecht twice and caught another on the far sideline that could have been ruled an interception. "We were ready for what they were going to come out and try to do."

Bankson scored again from nine yards out to open the second-half scoring and put the Cogs in front of North Boone (3-1) with their biggest lead of the game at 35-0.

Albrecht rallied the Vikings to within 35-8 with a 19-yard TD strike, and answered another Thurlby score with a 16-yard run to make it 41-16. But a big hit delivered by a G-K defender early in the fourth quarter sent Albrecht out of the game on a stretcher.

Mitchell Dander sacked North Boone backup QB Kyle Johnson for a safety that made it 43-16 for the game's final margin.

Thurlby finished with game-highs in carries (23) and rushing yards (186), while Bankson picked up 72 yards on 16 attempts. Billington also rushed for 56 yards and threw for 59 of 3-of-11 passing. Dan Lopez hauled in all three of those completions.

Genoa Kingston 43, North Boone 16

North Boone         0    0    16    0  --  16

Genoa-Kingston    0   29   12    2  --  43

GK -- Thurlby 15 run (Camargo kick), 11:24

GK -- Billington 23 run (Camargo kick), 8:45

GK -- Bankson 2 run (Camargo kick), 7:31

GK -- Billington 1 run (Menges pass to Dayton), 3:54

GK -- Bankson 9 run (kick failed), 7:12

NB -- Boemke 19 pass from A. Albrecht (A. Albrecht pass to J. Albrecht), 5:04

GK -- Thurlby 13 run (kick failed), 3:03

NB -- A. Albrecht 18 run (A. Albrecht pass to Nelson), 2:03

GK -- Dander tackles Johnson for safety, 10:39

TEAM STATISTICS            NB           G-K

First Downs                             14              28

Comp.-Att.-Int                    11-28-2       3-11-0

Pass Yards                             114              59

Rush att-yards                       24-99         53-351

Total Yards                            213             408

Fumbles-Lost                         2-0              1-0

Penalties-Yards                     11-91         18-190

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

North Boone: A. Albrecht 12-58, Johnson 8-58, J. Albrecht 2-22, Gvist 2(-17).

Genoa-Kingston: Thurlby 23-186, Bankson 16-72, Billington 19-56, Lopez 1-16, Camargo 1-11, Dander 2-10.

Passing

North Boone: A. Albrecht 11-28-2 114.

Genoa-Kingston: Billington 3-11-0 59.

Receiving

North Boone: Embry 3-19, Gvist 1-8, Johnson 1-9, J. Albrecht 1-9, Boemke 5-69.

Genoa-Kingston: Lopez 3-59.