QUICK READ: Geneva’s field may pose problem

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Geneva senior right guard Justin Craig waxed poetic more than critical when he labeled Burgess Field an “ocean of mud” three weeks ago.

Moments removed from drubbing DeKalb, 55-0, in the sloppy stuff, his cohorts on the Vikings’ offensive line were doing the same. They love the muck, they said.

Players figure to renew the affair next week with Geneva likely to host a first-round game in the IHSA playoffs. With recent weather continuing to keep the Vikings’ home field out of sorts, however, early whispers of moving to a neutral site for the playoffs have emerged.

“Our field is beat up for sure,” Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said, “and we’ll have to see if we’re even fortunate enough to get a home game before it becomes something we need to seriously monitor.”

Wicinski said Geneva likely would pursue a neutral site or just play on its battered home field rather than allow its opponent to host the game, provided the Vikings are entitled to a home game.

The football team is Burgess’ lone tenant with boys soccer involved in its own postseason, and the venerable patch of grass has received some air lately. After another muddy home showdown against Rochelle that followed the DeKalb game, the Vikings traveled to Kaneland in Week 8 and will close the regular season at archrival Batavia tonight.

Playoff pairings are set to be released Saturday night. Geneva ranked fourth in Class 6A in the IHSA’s most recent playoff outlook; teams ranked 1-16 in each of the eight playoff classes will host seeds 17-32 in the first round.

Rain is back in the forecast tonight, much like the past four Fridays. Wherever teams go of late, there’s been the threat of a muddy ocean undertow.

Wouldn’t it be grand: Batavia girls volleyball coach Lori Trippi-Payne collected her 400th career victory at the Maine West Pumpkin Tournament on Saturday but was realistic about setting her sights on St. Francis colleague Peg Kopec, who netted win No. 1,000 in September.

“If I don’t have a heart attack before then, I’ll try,” Trippi-Payne said.

Kopec joined the Spartans in 1974 and has guided the program to eight state titles since Trippi-Payne debuted in Batavia in 1987.

St. Charles East’s Jennie Kull, meanwhile, stands 37 victories shy of 400 wins as a Saint.

They appreciate it: The East boys and girls golf teams both traveled downstate for IHSA state tournaments last week, primed to keep tabs on how the other was doing.

The boys finished seventh and the girls eighth in another successful fall for Saints golf. Asked what accounts for the program’s collective success, boys senior Kyle Cook lauded coaches John Stock (boys) and Rod Osborne (girls) before nodding to each players’ first teachers.

“Our parents really support us out here, so that’s really good,” Cook said. “We have a bunch of nice courses around that we can kind of grow up on, and you get used to a bunch of different things.

“That helps during high school when you’re playing the same course maybe once a season. It’s not like you haven’t seen it before.”

• Kevin Druley is a sportswriter for The Chronicle. He can be reached at 630-845-5347 or kdruley@kcchronicle.com.

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