Geneseo defeats Mt. Vernon, 14-3
The Geneseo Green?Machine took the long trip to Mt. Vernon to square off against the Rams in the final regular season game of the year. Geneseo emerged with the 14-3 victory and secured a spot in postseason action.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Mt. Vernon was the first team to post points on the scoreboard with a 32-yard field goal. The Green?Machine answered with a score of their own on a 1-yard run by Jake Ballegeer and the Luke Lembke PAT to put Geneseo up by four at the half, 7-3.
Both teams battled back and forth to get into the end zone in the third quarter, but the score remained 7-3 after three quarters of play.
“I think the key was that we were able to hold them to just a field goal,” said head coach Larry?Johnsen. “And then we responded with a touchdown. I thought we did alright containing Mt Vernon’s speed and our kids did a pretty good job.”
The Green Machine sealed the victory on a 28-yard TD run by Collin Akers and Lembke split the uprights for seven more points and the 14-3 win.
Geneseo combined for 187 rushing yards on 41 carries and 40 passing yards on two completions.
On the ground for the Green Machine, Jason Johnson led the way with 81 yards on 18 carries, followed by Akers with 58 yards on nine carries and Ballegeer, 31 yards on nine carries. Lembke added 12 rushing yards on two carries, while Michael Atwell rounded out the ground game with 5 yards on three carries.
Atwell completed two passes to Adam Haviland and Akers. Haviland had one catch for 30 yards and Akers had a completion for 10 yards.
“I thought we did well moving the ball and tried to eat up the clock,” said Johnsen. “We started to see them (Mt. Vernon) wear down and get frustrated. We wore them down and kept the ball.”
The Geneseo defense held Mt. Vernon to 102 rushing yards on 43 carries and 80 passing yards on seven completions.
The Green?Machine (6-3 overall and 3-2 in the NCIC) will host the first round of the IHSA 4A regional playoffs at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 against Walther Lutheran at Bob Reade Field.
