A.J. Weller had a game to remember for a lifetime, but it’s one the United Township Panthers would like to forget, following their 55-21 loss at Geneseo on Friday night.  Weller, the Maple Leafs’ QB, ran for six touchdowns, for distances of 1, 34, 5, 4, 2, and 68 yards.  Also playing defense, he added an interception in the 2^nd quarter. 

Weller’s performance for Geneseo (4-0, 2-0 in Western Big 6 play) overshadowed a great game by UT receiver Korey Randle, who caught TD passes of 44, 54, and 14 yards from QB Matthew Kelley.  Randle was named Godfathers Pizza Panthers Player of the Game.  The first Kelley-to-Randle scoring strike gave the Panthers (1-3, 0-2) an early 7-0 lead, but the Green Machine scored at least two touchdowns in each of the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th quarters to overwhelm the visitors from East Moline.

The Panthers will face a second straight unbeaten them, when they host Quincy (4-0, 2-0) next Friday night, with live play-by-play coverage presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home on QCSportsNet.com.

Quincy’s Rico Clay intercepted a pass in the end zone with half a minute remaining to preserve the Blue Devils’ 34-27 win over Moline (1-3, 0-2 in Western Big 6 play), Friday night at Flinn Stadium in Quincy.  Jeraius Rice (134 yards rushing) scored his third TD of the game with 7:42 left in the 4^th quarter to break a 27-27 tie and give the Blue Devils (4-0, 2-0) the lead for good.  Pablo Perez’s third TD run of the game for Moline had tied the game late in the 3^rd.

The Maroons’ only lead came when Adrian Cooper intercepted Bradyn Little (259 yards passing, 2 TDs) and returned it 35 yards to the end zone with 1:03 left in the first half for a 20-19 advantage at the break.  Moline QB Drew Phelps passed for 110 yards and ran for 26 and was named Godfather’s Pizza Moline Maroons Player of the Game.

Moline hosts Rock Island (0-4, 0-1) next Friday night, live on QCSportsNet.com, presented by Sexton Ford.

In Week 4, Moline and UT go on the road to face unbeaten squads, while Rocky has a rare mid-season non-conference contest.
All games Friday. Follow the hyperlinks for the live streams:

7:15 p.m. Moline at Quincy, presented by Sexton Ford
7:15 p.m. Rock Island vs Sterling-Newman, presented by Wheelan-Pressly
7:15 p.m. United Township at Geneseo, presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home

Brayden Combs’ 26-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining gave Geneseo a 24-21 win at Moline on Friday night, in the Western Big 6 opener for both teams.  The Maroons had tied the game on a 19-yard TD pass from QB Elijah Taylor to Zander Ealy with 10:35 remaining in the 4th quarter, followed by a successful 2-point conversion.

Geneseo took the early lead on a 41-yard TD run by Jeron Neal, before Moline’s other QB, Drew Phelps, tied it on a 1-yard run.  Josh Steines put the Maple Leafs up 14-7 with a 3-yard run to the end zone.  Then, just before halftime, Moline’s Pablo Perez scored on a 1-yard run, but the extra point was no good, leaving the score 14-13 Geneseo (3-0, 1-0 in conference play) at halftime.

Geneseo QB A.J. Weller ran 4 yards to paydirt early in the third quarter to make it 21-13, setting of the 4th quarter drama.  The Maroons (1-2, 0-1) will visit Quincy (3-0, 1-0, ranked #9 in Class 7A) on Friday night.  Live play-by-play, presented by Sexton Ford, is slated to begin about 7:15 p.m. on QCSportsNet.com.

The United Township Panthers had to play catchup almost all Friday night, in the end falling to Sterling, 23-19 in the Western Big 6 opener at the Soule Bowl.  A bad snap over UT QB Matthew Kelley’s head in Panthers’ territory was picked up by the Golden Warriors and run in for a TD just 15 seconds into the game.  Kelley, returning after being injured in Week 1, ran 44 yards to tie the score 7-7 with 5:52 left in the 1st.

Two 33-yard field goals by Sterling’s Ryan Gebhardt, and a 33-yard TD run by the Golden Warriors’ Cale Ledergerber, were sandwiched around Kelley’s second TD run, this one from 23 yards out, leaving the Panthers trailing 20-13 at the half.  A third FG made it 23-13 in the 3rd, before Chris Ward’s 1-yard TD run made it 23-19 with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.

But the Panthers (1-2, 0-1 in conference play) were unable to score in the 4th, with an interception of a Kelley pass with 1:55 to play sealing the deal for the Golden Warriors (1-2, 1-0).  Kelley finished with 100 rushing yards on 13 carries and threw for another 64 yards.

The Panthers visit Geneseo (3-0, 1-0) Friday night.  Live play-by-play on QCSportsNet.com beginning at about 7:15 p.m., presented by Van Hoe Funeral Home.