Geneva took the lead on its first drive of the Vikings’ season opener Friday against Larkin and never looked back.

Geneva, scoring on all seven of its first half possessions, overwhelmed the Royals 56-0 at Memorial Field.

“You never know how the first game is going to go. I just wanted to see us execute. I wanted to see us fly around and play hard,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said. “Overall, I am very pleased with how we played, the effort that was given and the intensity that they played with.”

Starting in his first varsity game, junior quarterback Ben Peterson connected with Bennett Konkey for a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 9:27 mark of the first quarter to put his squad on top.

“Coming into today I was super nervous because it was my first varsity game. We prepared a lot and were ready for this game,” Peterson said. “After that first touchdown, I was all good and calm.”

Less than two minutes later, the Vikings doubled their lead to 14-0 on a 35-yard Tate Beran punt return.

Geneva (1-0), ranked sixth in AP’s Class 6A preseason poll, extended the margin to 28-0 by the end of the first quarter. Dominic DiLeonardi crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run and Lincoln Mercado scored on an 11-yard pass from Peterson.

Konkey (four catches for 74 yards) notched his second TD 45 seconds into the second quarter by snaring a 37-yard Peterson toss at Larkin’s five-yard line and scampering across the goal line.

Mercado (three catches for 29 yards) tallied his second touchdown of the night on the Vikings’ next drive on a Peterson 12-yarder.

Senior Wyatt Curry scooped up a Royals fumble on Larkin’s 27-yard line and returned it to the end zone for the Vikings’ seventh score with 7:28 left until halftime.

Xavier Figueroa (16 carries for 72 yards) ended Geneva’s final possession of the first half by scoring on a 2-yard run as time expired for a 56-0 halftime lead. The TD capped a 9-play drive, all runs by Figueroa.

Peterson completed eight of 10 passes for 118 yards.

“My quarterback played really well for his first game on varsity. I thought he managed the game well,” Thorgesen said.

Benjamin Schmidt was perfect eight for eight on point after kicks.

Larkin (0-1) struggled to get its offense going. The Royals earned only one first down and were unable to get the ball into Geneva’s territory.

“I saw some positive things from our kids,” said Larkin coach Vincent Ray. “But it’s the growth part of it, we have to learn to play the game of football the way it should be played.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250829/prep-football/geneva-strikes-early-often-in-shutout-win-over-larkin/