GENEVA–Geneva rolled over visiting Chagrin Valley Conference rival Madison in a Division III, Region 9 playoff opener on Friday, 35-11.
The Eagles racked up 348 yards of total offense with 245 coming on the ground in their second win over the Blue Streaks in three games.
“Matt Peet, our offensive coordinator, does an excellent job,” said Geneva head coach Don Shymske. “He has a good feel of what we can run, and within the game, Luke Barbo had a great game tonight. The offense was just clicking, and it was all good.”
The Eagles drew first blood on an 87-yard scoring drive aided by Barbo runs of 11, 20, and nine yards.
Bryce Peet punched it in from five yards out to give Geneva its first lead of the night.
The Eagle defense forced a punt and opened its next scoring drive with a Barbo quarterback keeper to the edge that gained 25 yards, with a facemask penalty tacked on to the end of the run.
Barbo tossed a 15-yard strike to Hayden Diemer before the senior QB polished off the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.
Will Randall gave the Blue Streaks some momentum with a connection to Knolan Albert for 23 yards and a strike to Alexander Davis for 20 more.
A Ben Amos 32-yard field goal capped off the Madison scoring drive to cut Geneva’s lead to 14-3 late in the second quarter.
Facing a third-and-19 early in the third quarter, Barbo found Diemer streaking down the sideline for 55 yards to flip the field.
Barbo and Diemer then connected on a 10-yard screen pass and Diemer closed the drive with a three-yard touchdown run for a 21-3 advantage.
Nigel Platt sacked Randall, setting up Donnie Shymske’s first varsity touchdown on a 31-yard pick-six in his last home football game as a senior.
“I saw the two out-routes, the ball was overthrown a little bit, and I just took it to the house,” Shymske said of his pick-six. “It’s an awesome feeling. It’s my first varsity touchdown, and to be able to do it in front of my family and my dad as the head coach is a moment I’ll never forget.”
Coach Shymske added: “It’s a very special moment, I’m very happy for him. That kid puts in a lot of work and bears the brunt of being the coach’s kid. So, for him to get that pick-six was awesome.”
Madison found the endzone when Payton Birman took a pitch from Randall, got to the edge, and turned the corner for a 71-yard touchdown run.
Davis converted on the two-point try following the score.
The Eagles dug into their bag of tricks and used a halfback pass from Diemer to Caden Proy for 24 yards.
Diemer capped off his final home game with a freight-train-esque 12-yard touchdown run, carrying Blue Streak defenders to paydirt.
The offense was firing on all cylinders for Geneva.
“We had a good week of practice; we knew this was going to be the biggest game of our lives,” said Barbo of the potent offense. “We knew (Madison) was going to come out fighting. We had to bring it tonight.”
Geneva defeated its long-time cross-town rival Madison, 21-14, two weeks ago in a Week 9 clash for the conference title.
“It helped,” coach Shymske said of having played Madison recently. “I could scout what we did, what worked and didn’t work. We changed some coverages and played much better defense tonight. Offensively, we moved the ball. But the fact is this is the town next door. The kids all know each other; it’s a rivalry game.”
Barbo paced the Eagles with 18 carries for 148 yards and a rushing touchdown while completing 4-of-7 passes for 79 yards.
Diemer did it all with 107 all-purpose yards on 10 touches and two rushing scores, plus completing one pass for 24 yards.
Peet added 43 yards on 13 rushes with a touchdown.
With the win, Geneva improved to 10-1 on the year and will play Aurora (10-1) in the second round next week.
The Blue Streaks send off the 2024 class 7-4 with a second straight OHSAA state playoff appearance.
“A lot of those guys started as sophomores in a tough conference,” said Madison head coach Mike Gilligan. “They played state championship-level football teams and paid their dues. They went from 1-to-2 wins, and they’re the cornerstone of our program turnaround.”
Birman led the offense with eight carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, and Mac Steele pulled in two passes for 24 yards.
