Moore's kick wins it for Geneva

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:20PM

Connor Quinn teed it up. Ben Moore drove it right down the middle of the fairway.

Whoops, wrong sport.

Moore, listed as a 5-foot-10, 145-pound senior wideout, is also the kicker for the Geneva High School football team. On Friday night, he capped the Vikings' remarkable comeback from a 15-point deficit, drilling a 35-yard field goal dead center through the uprights as time ran out to lift Geneva (6-2) to a 31-28 victory.

Funny thing is, Moore didn't even see it.

"I don't know until I hear the crowd," Moore said of his kick. "Coach (Dave) Carli tells me to keep my head down. I just try to concentrate on my mechanics and focus."

They were very good, as evidenced by the roar he hear from the packed home stands.

"The offense was great tonight, they couldn't be stopped and the defense gave us some great stops (at the end)," said Moore, appreciative of his opportunity, especially after missing his first PAT kick in the first quarter.

"He's done a great job all year for us," said Geneva coach Rob Wicinski. "He didn't just kick it, he drilled it."

Quinn, who rushed 23 times for 189 yards, helped set it up with key defensive and offensive plays after a 9-yard scoring pass on fourth-and-goal from quarterback Matt Williams (8 of 16, 154 yards) to Russ Acton (2 receptions, 70 yards, 2 TDs) helped tie the game at 28-28 with 2:43 remaining.

Starting at its own 20, the Storm got to Geneva's 38 but Quinn sacked South Elgin quarterback John Menken (8-12, 191 yards, 2 TDs) for a 3-yard loss and then blitzed from his linebacker spot and batted down Menken's pass on third down to force a punt.

"He's one of our best defenders but we try to get him off the field (on defense) to give him some rest," said Wicinski, who lost defensive lineman Andrew Mariotti to a foot injury in the second half.

The South Elgin punt was downed at the Geneva 47 with 1:36 remaining. Quinn ran for six yards, Williams threw an incompletion and then Quinn ran three straight times behind left guard Jacob Bastin and left tackle Kevin Dwyer for 10, 15 and seven yards to help set the stage for Moore's heroics with 1.6 seconds remaining.

South Elgin used its final timeout to ice him but it didn't matter.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division leaders to take after piling up 470 yards of offense to the Vikings' 404. The Storm was flagged nine times for 102 yards in penalties to four violations for Geneva that totaled 26 yards.

South Elgin coach Dale Schabert, whose team fell to 6-2 with the crossover loss, refused comment afterward.

The Storm got two 100-yard rushing performances with Bradley Birchfield (23-150) dominating early and Adolfo Pacheco (13-120) late. Birchfield had a five-yard scoring run early in the second quarter and the first of four David Reisner PAT kicks made it 7-6.

Geneva had taken a 6-0 lead on Tyler Hickey's first pass reception of the season in the first quarter. It went for 14 yards.

South Elgin padded the lead with a nine-play, 72-yard scoring drive to take a 14-6 lead at the half.

The teams traded punches in the second half, each scoring on their first two possessions.

Reisner, though, was wide left with a 28-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter.

All of Pacheco's carries came in the second half. He also caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Menken, who had completions of 26, 41, 37 and 49 yards in the game.

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