Quinn leads Geneva past Batavia

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

BATAVIA – The first half hadn't ended Friday and the voice of the public address announcer began to take on a metronome-like quality.

"Connor Quinn the ball carrier," he droned.

Time and time again came the announcement. And time and time again came the same result, positive yardage for visiting Geneva.

The senior running back carried the ball 29 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns as the Vikings ground out a 40-21 decision to spoil Batavia's homecoming. More importantly, it helped Geneva take control of the inaugural Upstate Eight River Conference race, climbing to 4-2 overall and 4-0 in the league.

The Vikings aren't as big up front as they have been in recent seasons, but they're still grinding out the yardage.

"The kids just keep doing what they've been doing," said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski. "We didn't play bad football the first two games (despite an 0-2 start). We just keep doing what we're doing and they believe in it."

Geneva ground out 274 yards on the ground, Matt Williams threw for 142 more and the Vikings claimed a 416-330 edge in total yards and a had a 23-14 advantage in first downs.

Batavia, which falls to 3-3 and 2-1, drew first blood, taking advantage of good field position after a short Geneva punt followed the Vikings' first possession.

The Bulldogs started at the Viking 47 and needed only five plays to get on the board when Emund Kabba ran 12 yards for a touchdown. Brandon Clabough's PAT kick made it 7-0 but the Batavia offense hibernated the rest of the half, producing "drives" of 4, 21, 10 and 12 yards.

Geneva, meanwhile, started grinding it out. Quinn and Co. marched 65 yards on 15 plays (including 9 carries by Quinn) and answered with Williams' 1-yard scoring run. Even a missed PAT kick by Ben Moore didn't slow them.

After Batavia went three-and-out, Geneva went 62 yards in just two plays as fullback Joe Cella rumbled up the middle for a 57-yard score. Moore's kick was good and the Vikings never trailed.

Call Quinn (6-2, 215) and Cella (6-0, 200) thunder and … thunder. Quinn also caught four passes for 64 yards to account for 206 yards and Cella had 102 total yards, 62 rushing and 42 on receptions.

The Vikings led 20-7 at half and even though Batavia went 61 yards on the opening drive of the second half to pull within 20-14 on Emund Kabba's 51-yard scoring run, , Doug Berthold took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a score.

Quinn had two scoring runs of one yard each, and Cella had an 8-yard scoring pass from Williams.

And four times, the Vikings played like a riverboat gambler, going for it on fourth down. Three times they made it. The time they didn't, Batavia got the ball at its own 40.

"That's Williams," said Wicinski. "He's the gambler. He's got the option. I can make the call (to punt) if I want. But he has the option (to roll out and pass, hand off or drop back in shotgun formation and make a rugby punt). You've got to roll with the junior, sometimes."

They rolled to their fourth straight win.

Kabba, who rushed 10 times for 106 yards, left the game in the the fourth quarter with a leg injury.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.