{"id":118877,"date":"2026-08-22T04:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T04:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/118877\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T04:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T04:29:09","slug":"bennett-konkey-scores-3-first-quarter-touchdowns-in-genevas-28-14-home-triumph-over-libertyville-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/118877\/","title":{"rendered":"Bennett Konkey scores 3 first-quarter touchdowns in Geneva\u2019s 28-14 home triumph over Libertyville \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

Libertyville\u2019s placekicker set the football on the tee at 7 p.m. sharp to begin the high school football season for both the Libertyville Wildcats and the Geneva<\/a> Vikings. The time it took Bennett Konkey to return that kickoff all the way to the end zone were the only seconds the Vikings did not lead in an eventual 28-14 home victory.<\/p>\n

Konkey received the kickoff just outside the left hash, cut left and was off to the races, showcasing the speed that has won him multiple state championships in track and field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the hole, and I had to hit it,\u201d Konkey said. \u201cThe nerves before the game, I was throwing up. I\u2019ve never thrown up before a game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning the opening kickoff seemed to ease the nerves of the rest of the team, as Geneva never trailed in the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s elite. He\u2019s elite. He\u2019s elite. \u2026 He\u2019s got his hands, but he\u2019s a very smart football player, so he can handle a lot on his plate,” Geneca coach Troy Thorgesen said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to rely on him a lot this season, but you can see, he can take it, and he understands that he\u2019s going to be the focal point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Geneva\u2019s first offensive possession went much like the kickoff, featuring a one-play, 70-yard touchdown pass to Konkey, who got free behind the safeties.<\/p>\n

Konkey, who ended the day with 178 receiving yards on four catches and 279 all-purpose yards, scored a third touchdown in the first quarter, taking a screen pass 49 yards into the end zone to give the Vikings a sizable 21-0 advantage.<\/p>\n

Libertyville would punch back with a score of its own on a rushing touchdown.<\/p>\n

Once the second half began, the rain picked up, forcing both squads to utilize the ground game more aggressively. Running back Nelson Wendell received 18 carries in the second half alone as the Vikings sought to put away the Wildcats in the opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s what we want as coaches, you know,\u201d said Thorgensen. \u201cWe want to be tested Week 1, and I think we got everything we could handle in this game. We found out a lot about our team, and we\u2019re just happy to be 1-0.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior linebacker Jakob Berry caused plenty of chaos on the other side of the football. Berry racked up a sack and an interception in the second quarter and was a key piece of the Vikings defense on Friday night, holding Libertyville to seven points in each half.<\/p>\n

Coach Thorgesen said of the team\u2019s outlook, \u201cWe know we\u2019ve got to get better, and we will get better, and I told the kids. But we\u2019re going to enjoy this game, and come Saturday, Sunday, Monday, we\u2019ll be ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vikings will look to ride the momentum of the opening-week win when they play the Oswego Panthers next Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Libertyville\u2019s placekicker set the football on the tee at 7 p.m. sharp to begin the high school football…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118878,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[51320,58021,65,29214,42198,1980],"class_list":["post-118877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-fnd-kane-county","tag-friday-night-drive-front-headlines","tag-geneva","tag-geneva-preps","tag-high-school-football","tag-kane-county-front-headlines"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117137281284551081","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}