TYLER ERB and his Geneva teammates will invade Madison on Friday night. DANIEL KRAUS / Star Beacon
Published August 28, 2008 03:50 am - It may see like a simple question, but as it turns out, it’s deceptively hard to answer: When’s the last time Geneva beat Madison in football?
Eagles stepping up Fresh off opening win, Geneva will face a bigger test in Madison
ADAM RAEDER Star Beacon
It may see like a simple question, but as it turns out, it’s deceptively hard to answer: When’s the last time Geneva beat Madison in football?
“I can’t — I know it’s been a while,” Eagles coach Tony Hassett said. “... I have no idea, to be honest with you.”
Neither did his players.
“Oh, no,” quarterback Tyler Erb said. “I know all these coaches have been telling us when they beat Madison. But we all know how long (ago) that was.”
Maybe it make sense that the Eagles have a little selective memory — who wants to remember losses anyway?
But even the Blue Streaks had trouble putting their finger on just how long their streak was.
“I don’t know how many years it is, but it’s probably been more than 10,” Madison coach Tim Willis said.
Geneva’s Jake Buckey decided to take a different spin on the question, shifting the focus from varsity to JV.
“It’s been a long time. It’s been a while,” the senior said. “But our JV, a lot of us when we played JV, we beat Madison’s JV. And a lot of them are starters now.”
Finally, Geneva assistant coach Don Shymske chimed in with an answer: “1997.”
“He would know,” Hassett said. “He was playing then.”
But both sides recognize that this Geneva squad — one which will travel to Madison for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. contest — isn’t the same one that served as Madison’s hapless younger brother for the better part of the past decade.
“Geneva is much improved,” Willis said. “They have some very good personnel. I think their quarterback (Erb) and tailback (James Murray) are very, very good. Their receivers are very good. (Caleb) Strauser and (Alec) Muller are two very good players. They’ve got a balanced attack. You’ve got to prepare for a lot of different things.”
“We knew this year we had a lot of talent, that we would be a lot better than most of the Geneva teams that have come through,” Erb said.
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