Clayton Thorson, Wheaton North hold off Geneva

THE SKINNY

Two Geneva gambles backfired, including a draw play on fourth-and-8 from its own 13 on the first series of the game, and Wheaton North’s Clayton Thorson completed 15-of-29 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown as the No. 4 Falcons (2-0) rolled to 40-27 win on the road.

TURNING POINT

Take your pick. Trailing 10-6 early in the second quarter, Geneva tried to catch Wheaton North napping on fourth-and-11 at its own 44, but a pass from punt formation fell incomplete. Nine plays later and aided by a roughing the kicker penalty on a field-goal attempt, Wheaton North took a 17-6 lead on a 5-yard pass from Thorson to Michael Bloss. On Geneva’s first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, Wheaton North’s Mike Cerone returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown that extended the lead to 24-6.

THE STAR

Thorson completed passes of 23, six and 32 yards as the Falcons drove 61 yards in 63 seconds on their final possession of the first half to take a 31-13 lead.

BY THE NUMBERS

Geneva quarterback Daniel Santacaterina, who threw for 337 yards in Week 1, completed 22-of-37 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. But the 6-foot junior was also picked off three times.

QUOTABLE

“We didn’t want to punt to No. 83 (Matt Biegalski) and apparently it was strategy that maybe did not work out as best as we wanted it to. I’ve been reading too many percentage books and the odds are better to go for it all the way up until the 40 and once you’re over the 50 you’re in four-down territory. That’s something we’ll have to go back and re-evaluate.” – Geneva coach Rob Wicinski.