Two teams aiming to continue their respective paths in reviving past gridiron glory collide Saturday afternoon at MHS Stadium.
It’s been a while since either the Macomb High or Geneseo High football squads have reached the quarterfinal round in the state football playoffs.
The No. 3 seeded Bombers (9-1) and the No. 6 seeded Maple Leafs (8-2) aim to change that as they play in an Illinois High School Association Class 4A second round contest.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The last quarterfinal appearance for the Bombers was in Class 3A in 2011. In Class 4A, the Bombers last reached the quarterfinals in 2001.
As for the Geneseo Green Machine, its last quarterfinal berth came in 2015.
In recent times, Geneseo has reached the playoffs each of the past four seasons.
A year ago, the Maple Leafs finished 6-5 under first year head coach Matt Furlong.
Before landing in Geneseo, Furlong was previously the defensive coordinator for Cary-Grove High School, a team that won IHSA Class 6A state championships in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
His wife Monica (Perone) is a Macomb High graduate.
In last week’s opening round, Geneseo rallied to beat Rochelle 16-14, recording its sixth straight victory.
Trailing 14-13, the Green Machine recovered an onside kick that led to the game-winning field goal as time expired.
It was a measure of payback for Geneseo, who lost to the Hubs 41-14 in the season opener.
Geneseo’s last loss was to eventual Western Big 6 champion Moline 28-7 in week four.
The Maroons (9-1) are currently in the Class 7A playoffs.
The Geneseo offense is led by senior quarterback Jackson McAvoy (6-feet, 174 pounds).
He has completed 20-of-50 passes for 378 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions.
McAvoy has also ran for 829 yards on 125 carries, scoring 11 TDs.
Also in the backfield, senior running back Kye Weinzierl (6-1, 191) has 817 yards and nine TDs on 89 carries, while junior fullback Mark Nelms (5-9, 185) has added 580 yards and five TDs on 121 carries.
For the season, the Green Machine has recorded 2,500 yards and 30 TDs on 370 carries.
Weinzierl is also the team’s leading receiver with 12 catches for 230 yards and threeTDs.
Defensively, Weinzierl, who is listed as a linebacker, is the team’s leading tackler, recording 57 solos and 79 assists for 136 total tackles. He also has a pair of interceptions.
Following Weinzierl on the tackle chart are senior linebacker Grant Bomleny (6-0, 176) with 66 total tackles (29-37), senior linebacker Quinn Vanhyfte (5-10. 172) with 64 (25-39), junior defensive back Jack Mickley (6-1, 167) with 51 (13-38) and senior linebacker Payton Hofer (5-9, 163) with 45 (13-32).
Junior defensive back Keaton Ariano (6-0, 198) also has two interceptions.
Junior Carson Peters (5-9, 160) has made 22-of-23 point-after- touchdown kicks, and is also 4-of-4 in field goal attempts.
In last week’s victory, McAvoy finished 5-of-7 passing for 67 yards with one TD and one INT.
Weinzierl led the rushing attack with 63 yards and a TD on 12 carries. McAvoy added 11 carries for 53 yards and Nelms chipped in 10 carries for 51 yards.
Weinzierl had four catches for 62 yards with a TD. He was also Geneseo’s leading tackler, recording 12 stops.
The Bombers opened the playoffs last week with a 21-6 victory over Hillcrest from Country Club Hills.
It was the first playoff win for Macomb against someone other than Quincy Notre Dame since 2011 when Bombers beat Beardstown 49-7 in Class 3A second round play.
Macomb has won four straight games since losing to Farmington 30-16 in week six.
A week ago, QB Kaden Knupp completed 15-of-28 passes for 179 yards with two TDs and one INT.
The Bombers recorded 146 yards rushing on 29 carries. Drake May ran for a team-leading 105 yards and a TD on 24 carries.
Receiver Drew Watson finished with nine catches for 106 yards and a score, while Kyler Norton added three catches for 56 yards and a score.
On defense, May led MHS with nine tackles. Nolan Hoge and Jeshua McPheeters added seven each, followed by Cameron Keene with five.
The Bombers allowed 151 yards passing (8-of-22), along with 146 yards rushing on 24 carries.
For the season, Knupp is 79-of-138 passing for 1,430 yards and 15 TDs with six INTs.
Watson leads the receiving corps with 42 catches for 750 yards and seven TDs.
Norton has added 13 catches for 262 yards and five scores, followed by Carter Havens (12-206, one TD) and Hoge (11-209, two TDs) The Bombers have amassed 1,722 yards rushing and 25 TDs on 246 carries.
Individually, May has recorded 1,094 yards and 15 TDs on 150 carries. Knupp has added 355 and eight TDs on 57 carries.
On defense, May leads the way from his linebacker spot with 121 total tackles (43-78).
McPheeters is next (2546-71), followed by lineman Blaze Howell (10-37-47, with four sacks), Hoge (19-24-43 with five INTs) and lineman Drake Taber (8-32-40).
Watson also has four INTs as the Bombers have returned three interceptions for touchdowns this season, one each by Watson, Havens and Hoge.
Kicker Hayden Katz is 38-of-39 PATs and 1-of-3 on field goal attempts.
Both teams have received forfeit victories this season.
MHS won by forfeit over LVC in week nine, while Geneseo won by forfeit over Alleman in week seven.
Also, Saturday’s game is not the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs.
The Bombers hosted the Maple Leafs in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A playoffs in 1979.
Geneseo won 30-13 to advance to the semifinals where it lost at home to Morris 14-8.
At that time there were five classes with 16 teams qualifying for the playoffs, a total of 80 teams.
The Geneseo/Macomb winner will face either No. 7 seed Metamora (8-2) or No. 2 seed Morris (9-1) in the quarterfinals.
The Metamora/Morris contest is slated to be played Saturday at 3 p.m. in Morris.
If Macomb wins, it will be on the road against Metamora or Morris.
If Geneseo wins, it would host Metamora or Morris.
