No Leafs burning in Mendota

MENDOTA — A complete circle of football fans lined around Doenier Field in Mendota, some dressed in green and gold, others dressed in purple and gold.

As the Mendota Trojans kicked-off the football to start  Saturday’s 4A quarterfinal game, the public address announcer stated, “On the eighth day, God created high school football.”

The packed house of 3,000 strong, including 600-plus Maple Leafs fans in end zone bleachers brought by Geneseo High School, helped delivered a fevered pitch for exciting playoff football.

Several signs throughout the city streets of Mendota suggested there would be “Leafs burning” Saturday, but it was Geneseo who would burn the Trojans.

Three plays was all it took for the Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs, who have made playing late into November a school tradition passed from one generation down to the next, used its defense to strike first.

Geneseo rushed Mendota punter Kurtis Knapp and Alex Anderson blocked the ball into the end zone. Hunter Fiers fell on the pigskin for a Maple  Leafs’ touchdown and added the PAT to take a 7-6 lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

“That was the first block of my life," Anderson told the Rock Island Argus. “I don’t know what would have happened if not for that block and recovery. But it wasn't just me; it was the team that lit the spark.”

Down 9-7 at halftime, the Maple Leafs, who won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, struck on the first play of scrimmage in the third quarter on Luke Lembke’s 78-yard touchdown run to take a 14-9 lead.

“That was more yards than we had in the whole first half,” Johnsen said. “To that point, nobody had been able to do anything. That was a huge spark.”

The Maple Leafs came up big again when Wes Cathcart hit Mendota quarterback Jordan Fritz as he was passing, causing the ball to fly straight up and into the open arms of lineman Cole Reiling.

Geneseo cashed in moments later with a 25-yard field goal by Lembke to go up 17-9 with 7:13 to go in the third quarter.