Sat, Jul 04 2009
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Published August 23, 2008 03:42 am - GENEVA — A neutral observer would view Geneva’s 42-7 win over visiting Wickliffe Friday night as a solid win for the Eagles. Eagles party like it’s 1999 Geneva wins first opener in 9 years DAVID NEGIN Star Beacon GENEVA — A neutral observer would view Geneva’s 42-7 win over visiting Wickliffe Friday night as a solid win for the Eagles.
But, to head coach Tony Hassett and his team, it was much more. The win marked the first time Geneva had won an opening football game since a 26-13 win over South in the 1999 season. In fact, Hassett could not even remember the last time Geneva had beaten a non-conference opponent outside Ashtabula County. “It is a big deal for our program,” Hassett said. What also was a big deal was how his team performed. Consider: n Geneva rushed for 315 yards on the ground, including 160 from senior running back James Murray (3 touchdowns). n The Eagles did not commit a single penalty during the game. n The Geneva defense held Wickliffe to just 148 yards total from scrimmage, yielding just 8 first downs. n The Eagle passing attack broke out in a big way, with junior quarterback Tyler Erb showing the experience gained as a starter last year was valuable. Erb completed 9 of 13 passes on the night (completing his last 9 passes) for 190 yards and a touchdown. The last point particularly pleased Hassett. While people knew that Geneva had a potent running game returning behind Murray (1,124 yards last year) and an experienced line, the Eagles did not have a proven passing attack. “Last year, we were one-dimensional,” he said. “It makes a big difference that we have more than one guy this year. Tyler has worked hard throwing the ball, and is a lot stronger.” The fact particularly pleases Murray, who amassed 124 of his yards in the first half. “When you have people like Caleb Strauser (4 catches, 106 yards) and Alec Muller (5 for 84 yards) running down the field and getting open and Erb throwing them the ball… it is just awesome,” he said. 
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