Geneseo simply played better on Friday night.

After fumbling away the ball on its opening possession at Bob Reade Field, it was an uphill battle from the start in Sterling’s 31-10 loss in Western Big 6 Conference action.

It was the first win over Sterling since 2014 for the Maple Leafs (5-2, 4-1), who were also celebrating Homecoming and recognized their Hall of Fame class before the game. Geneseo is now tied with Quincy (5-2, 4-1) for second place in the Big 6 behind Moline (6-1, 5-0). The Maroons earned a win after Alleman (1-6, 0-5) forfeited due to a lack of healthy players on Thursday.

A Brady Hartz 76-yard kick return to make it 10-7 in the first quarter was the only touchdown for Sterling (4-3, 3-2), now in third in the Big 6 standings.

The run-centric Leafs also made plays through the air and took advantage of three Sterling turnovers. Geneseo had the ball for over 30 minutes compared to 17:37 for Sterling. The Leafs were 5 of 6 on fourth down in the win.

“It was a great night for them,” Sterling’s Maurice De La Cruz said. “They knew they had to show up.”

Geneseo went up 10-0 and never trailed in the win.

Jackson McAvoy was 5 of 10 passing for 122 yards, also rushing for 37 yards and two TDs. He entered the game having thrown just 19 passes and 160 yards in Big 6 play.

“Sterling’s a great team,” McAvoy said. “It’s just a really hard, violent game and I’m happy to come out on top.”

Kye Weinzierl gashed the Sterling defense early on, finishing with 124 yards rushing and 86 yards receiving on three catches. He had a 55-yard run and a 63-yard catch.

Harrison Hill and Mark Nelms (87 yards rushing) also found the end zone for Geneseo.

The Maple Leafs intercepted Brady Berlin twice for his first picks of the season. He was 14 of 27 passing for 116 yards. Cobey Shipma had 33 yards rushing, and De La Cruz ran for 32 as Sterling had 100 yards on the ground.

“They did a really good job of putting us in tough situations,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said.

Geneseo had big gains running the option and kept Sterling off balance with its backfield misdirection.

“They were definitely smart on offense with their fakes and everything,” De La Cruz said. “They really knew how to get underneath our skin.”

“A lot of credit to them, because they’ve got some really darn good players over there,” Schlemmer said. “They executed better, and they outcoached us. And they outplayed us tonight.”

Gebhardt hit a 30-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to make it 17-10 in his return to the lineup after a brief injury.

Geneseo pulled away on the ground in the final frame.

“Their offense is their best defense,” Schlemmer said. “When they can sustain those long drives, it’s really tough.”

Geneseo also converted a fake punt on fourth down and had another drive extended due to a personal foul penalty on Sterling.

The Golden Warriors have another big game next week against Quincy at home. They hope to leave Friday’s game in the rearview mirror.

“We’ve been through this,” Schlemmer said. “We got beat against a good Moline team and came back and beat a good [United Township] team.

“We’ve just got to draw from that, making sure that we understand that there’s a lot of football to be played.”