Having lost out on the postseason, the best Wheaton North could do going forward was play spoiler.

Geneva, the defending Class 6A runner-up that needed to win its final two regular-season games to get to five wins, presented such an opportunity Friday at Rexilius Field.

The Falcons came back from 14 points down and won the DuKane Conference game, 21-20. They ended not only their four-game skid but also likely the Vikings’ four-year playoff streak.

“It feels amazing,” said Falcons senior running back Max Serbick, who marked his final home game by scoring twice and running for 141 yards on 27 carries. “We needed this win just for the morale of the team, and we got it.”

Turnovers by Wheaton North (3-5, 2-4) led to both first-half scores for Geneva (3-5, 2-4). Andrew Smith recovered a fumble on the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage at their own 10-yard line, and Ben Peterson (118 yards on 9-of-16 passing) soon hit Tate Beran for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

The Falcons then drove toward the red zone, but Dane Turner intercepted Burke Neibch (76 yards on 10-of-12 passing) and returned the ball to Wheaton North territory. This set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Peterson.

Max Serbick got the Falcons on the board with a 12-yard touchdown run a little more than two minutes later on the subsequent drive. That cut the Vikings’ lead to 14-7, a score that would remain at halftime.

Geneva padded its lead in the third quarter with Peterson’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Lincoln Mercado (34 yards on three receptions), and Wheaton North answered back with Serbick’s 18-yard scoring run. The difference between the two scores was that the Vikings had their extra-point kick blocked, so it was only a 20-14 game.

The blocked kick proved critical when Andy Gonzalez intercepted Peterson deep in Vikings territory on the first play of the fourth quarter, and Johnny Clayton capped the subsequent drive when he received a pitch on fourth-and-short and ran for a 3-yard touchdown. That gave the Falcons their first and only lead of the game.

“We were on a bad losing streak there, and the kids were down,” Falcons coach Joe Wardynski said. “But we actually had a pretty good week of practice, and their attitudes were good. We talked about that before we came out tonight.”

After the teams traded punts, Geneva needed any kind of score to salvage both the game and its season. It came down to fourth-and-1 at the Wheaton North 42 with 1:31 left.

Tyler Drake took the ball and did his best to get the necessary yard. With the spot of the ball uncertain, the chain gang was brought out for a measurement. Drake was ruled to be short, and the Falcons were then able to run out the clock.

“Lost a lot of one-score games this season,” Vikings coach Boone Thorgesen said. “And you hope that ball bounces your way. But sometimes, you gotta make it happen.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251017/prep-football/wheaton-north-rallies-from-14-down-hands-geneva-fifth-loss/