Paul Johnson

When Geneva junior running back Michael Ratay went down with an ankle injury against South Elgin in Week 2, Geneva coach Rob Wicinski’s heart dropped.

Geneva’s football team will not be playing for a state title – that is certain after the Vikings fell to East St. Louis, 34-26, in the IHSA Class 7A state quarterfinals Saturday in front of a massive crowd

It all centers around junior tailback Michael Ratay. He is up to 30 total touchdowns in 11 games, 27 rushing. He has run for 1,593 yards on 245 carries and has carried the load in the playoffs.

After a couple weeks of inclement weather that made passing difficult, Geneva’s football team hoped to balance out its offense in Friday’s IHSA Class 7A second-round playoff game against St. Charles East.

The No. 6-seeded Bulldogs (5-4) will have to travel 276 miles each way to face No. 3-seed East St. Louis (8-1) in the first round this week. Gaspari could be facing a ride to Springfield today just to handle the film exchange.

Batavia’s football team had a magical run this season, but came up just shy of reaching its wildest dreams. The Bulldogs staged a stirring comeback bid, but ultimately lost to Normal, 30-20, in the IHSA Class 6A state title game

While one chapter of Batavia football came to a close Saturday, another one already is off to a promising beginning.

Despite the fact Geneva’s football team was unable to reach the state title game, coach Rob Wicinski is pleased with the progress his program has made.

The Bulldogs hung a 28-0 shutout on Geneva in the Class 6A state semifinals to advance to the state title game against Normal at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium next Saturday at 10 a.m.

Quarterback Alex Schroeder is the catalyst for Batavia. He leads the team in rushing yards with 597, has thrown for 1,818 yards and accounted for 21 touchdowns