After a mostly ho-hum first 47 minutes, Friday night’s first-round playoff matchup between Geneseo and Rochelle became an instant classic between two longtime rivals after an improbable finish.

Geneseo junior Carson Peters kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired to send the Maple Leafs to a 16-14 win at Bob Reade Field. It was their first lead of the game.

The sixth-seeded Leafs (8-2) advance to face the winner of No. 3 Macomb and No. 14 Hillcrest in the Class 4A bracket. The 11th-seeded Hubs finished 6-4 as Geneseo avenged a 41-14 loss in Week 1.

Rochelle was 47 seconds away from winning the game after denying Geneseo’s two-point run after Kye Weinzierl caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jackson McAvoy.

It all came down to recovering an onside kick.

Peters’ kick got the right bounce, Rochelle fumbled it after a hit and Jadyn Wexell recovered the ball past midfield. Geneseo got just enough yardage and a five-yard penalty to set up Peters’ game-winning kick that knuckle-balled its way in as timed expired.

“I honestly thought it wasn’t going to go in at first,” Peters said. “It was just a crazy moment for me. A lot of work that I put in in the offseason, a lot of work that I’ve been putting in during practice, fixing my on-sides, working on those.”

Peters said he didn’t really have any nerves lining up for the game winner.

“I just think about breathing and just think about zoning out,” he said. “Just me with the field goal.”

Wexell was in the right place at the right time.

“It just fell into my hands,” he said. “I can’t control it, but it happened.”

Geneseo’s win came after Rochelle’s grind-it-out, clock-draining run game dictated much of the game.

Rochelle took a 7-0 lead after an 80-yard, 15-play opening drive took nearly 10 minutes off the clock. It was capped by Tyler Gensler’s 15-yard TD.

Roman Villalobos finished with 136 yards on 29 carries for the Hubs. His one-yard plunge gave Rochelle a 14-7 lead with 5:31 to play.

Geneseo tied it 7-all after Kye Weinzierl’s 13-yard TD run. The Leafs looked to go for the win late after Weinzierl’s TD catch with 47 seconds left. But Rochelle stuffed McAvoy’s run up the middle and he was ruled short.

Villalobos said it was back-and-forth all game before a crazy finish.

“After I saw that ball come out ... I still felt confident in our team,” he said. “I knew our defense could still do it. All game we held them to seven points. It was just a crazy moment.”

Villalobos was proud of the team’s fight, despite the loss.

“This whole season has just been a blessing,” Villalobos said. “We fought through adversity throughout the whole season.

“I’m just so proud of all of our people, and just pushing through everything that we’ve been through. Now is not the time to be sad, it’s time to be grateful and just think back on everything that we’ve accomplished so far.”

Geneseo coach Matt Furlong knew it would be a battle with Rochelle. It took every last second to get the win.

“Just proud of how our kids competed and how they kept belief and stayed with it,” he said. “And found a way to win.”

Furlong credited his junior kicker for executing.

“He’s a composed kid who has a lot of confidence in himself and his teammates,” he said. “When he went to line up, there wasn’t anything that needed to be said.”

In a game against a tough Rochelle team where possessions are at a premium, Geneseo came through when it mattered most.

“They’re a great team, really physical team,” McAvoy said. “And we’re a completely different team than at the start of the season.”

“We had a sour taste in our mouth after Week 1,” Weinzierl said. “We came out this week having something to prove, and I think that really solidified this game.”

Mark Green intercepted McAvoy as he finished with 67 yards passing. Weinzierl had 44 yards rushing, McAvoy ran for 63 and Mark Nelms had 42 yards on the ground. Weinzierl finished with four catches for 72 yards and a TD. He also caught a pass on fourth down to extend Geneseo’s final TD drive.

It has been an emotion-filled season for Rochelle, and they battled until the end.

Villalobos and the Hubs have been playing for injured teammate Dylan Manning, who is recovering from a head injury suffered earlier this month.

“Everything since the injury has been for Dylan,” he said. “That’s why we play so hard. We kept fighting, you know, we wanted to come in here and win for him, cause he’s actually up and watching the game right now.”