Creating havoc

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

In basketball, a Division I talent can change the game. With only 10 players on the court, one person can alter a team, a game and a season. It's a little different in football. There are so many moving parts, so many elements to success even the best talents can get lost on a 100-yard field.

The best comparison to hoops on the football field, to me, is on the line of scrimmage. For the most part it's five-on-five, and how well those 10 players perform directly leads to a team's victory or defeat.

Which brings me back to the difference Division I players can have. In that setting, in that 2-4 yards of space, superior talent can really make a difference. Geneva's 42-7 victory Friday night over Kaneland was an example of that.

The Vikings boast senior Cory Hofstetter at left defensive end and junior Frank Boenzi at nose tackle, and those two will be playing on Saturdays in the next two years. While Geneva (8-0, 6-0) had a great day offensively, it was those two -- along with Andrew Clausen and Trey Hemming -- that really shined against the Knights (4-4, 3-3).

"We knew they were going to pass a lot, so we just got in our pass rushing stances and we just went," Boenzi said. "We had a mindset that no one was going to stop us and that's what we did -- no one did stop us."

Kaneland ran dozens of plays against the Geneva defense, but a few stand out.

On one Kaneland series, Hofstetter was double-teamed by Knights left tackle Steve Licht and running back Blake Serpa. On second down he was triple-teamed by a pulling guard. He stunted around to the middle of the line on third down to get his 6-4 frame into Kaneland quarterback Joe Camiliere's vision for an incompletion and the Knights wound up punting.

Shortly thereafter, Geneva scored.

"I give the credit to our interior guys and the linebackers for doing what they're doing. Our defense is pretty solid right now," Hofstetter said. "We're working well as a group."

On an ensuing possession, the Knights tried to capitalize on Geneva's aggressiveness by throwing a screen to wide receiver Pat Fleming. Boenzi was in the backfield, but after Camiliere got rid of the ball he pursued down the field and eventually tackled Fleming 23 yards later. The Knights' coaches were exasperated -- they could not believe a tackle could make that play.

Later, when the Knights still had a chance to get back in it, they called another slip screen to Fleming. They ran it to Hofstetter's side to neutralize him, but Boenzi shot across the field to make the tackle. It was 4th-and-five, and Fleming gained just one yard. The turnover on downs resulted in another Vikings score.

After the game, Boenzi spent a nice moment with his mother, laughing. The 6-3, 290-pound tackle was all smiles.

"I'm just happy to be here," he said. "(And) I love playing with (Hofstetter). They single-teamed me so that's why I guess I got some of the plays I did. And our coach says if we're getting single blocked we should make plays and that's what we tried to do."

Boenzi and Hofstetter combined on a sack and Hofstetter added another of his own as the Vikings dominated the line of scrimmage. Yes, the Vikings put on a show offensively, but the havoc caused by those two was the true difference in the contest.

"We put a challenge to them," Vikings coach Rob Wicinski said of the defensive line. "Last week we had to pound against Rochelle and this week we had a spread passing game. I think they were excited to show they have a little more flexibility than just plugging holes."

jowczarski@scn1.com