Above: Steve Penney, Wayne Strader, Coach Bob Reade and Barry Pearson are among the Green Machine legends who helped make Geneseo’s football program one of the 10 best in Illinois over the last 50 years. (Courtesy of Geneseo Football on Facebook)
The Illinois High School Association has ranked Geneseo High School’s football program at #10 in its list of the Top 50 IHSA Football Programs from 1974-2024.
To commemorate the 50th edition of its Football Playoff State Series, which will culminate with the state championship games in Normal on November 29-30, the IHSA compiled a committee of current and former high school football coaches, administrators, and media members to select the Top 50 Football Programs during the playoff era.
Over the last 50 years, the Green Machine has won four state championships (1976-78, 1982) and appeared in the title game six other times (1981, 1990, 1992-93, 2009, 2013). Geneseo’s program record since 1974 is 435-126 with an IHSA playoff record of 76-39 in 43 playoff appearances.
Geneseo’s state final coaches include the legendary Bob Reade (1976, 1977, 1978), who compiled a record of 146-21-4 while at Geneseo and went on to Augustana College, where he won four consecutive NCAA Division III Football Championships from 1983 and 1986. Larry Johnsen (1981, 1982), Vic Boblett (1990), Denny Diericx (1992, 1993) and Larry Johnsen Jr. (2009, 2013) also led Geneseo to championship games.
Matt Furlong, Geneseo’s current head coach, was born and raised in the Quad Cities, and he began his coaching career in 2005 at Cary-Grove High School, which checked in at #23 on the IHSA’s list.
“Growing up, you always heard about Geneseo football, whether it was the traditions and accolades of the past or the current team making another deep run in the playoffs,” said Furlong. “Every fall, you heard about the Geneseo football program, and it wasn’t just locally. When I was announced as the next head coach here, all the football people in the Chicagoland area and around the state who reached out to congratulate me already knew about Geneseo and its strong football tradition.”
There is perhaps no better former member of the Green Machine to share his perspectives on the program’s rich history than Wayne Strader, who many consider to be the program’s greatest player.
Strader, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound running back, was named an All-American by Joe Namath’s National Prep Sports in 1976. He rushed for over 2,000 yards his senior season and led Geneseo to its first state championship since the playoff system was introduced.
“Geneva muscled us up a little bit in ‘75,” recalled Strader of Geneseo’s 12-0 loss in the 3A semifinals. “So in ‘76, we lifted before the season and during the season. We lifted that entire year, and then we did a lot outside of the normal workouts. We spent days in the hills at Richmond Hill. We just worked our butts off.”
Strader continued, “Coach Reade wanted to win a state championship, and we wanted to win a state championship to bring some recognition back to Geneseo. That was the goal from the first day of practice. We discussed that we were going to be conference champs, and then we wanted to be state champs. Coach said, 'All right, let's go to work, boys.' So we did.”
Geneseo finished its 1976 campaign at 13-0, knocking off the defending state champion, Metamora, 20-12, as Strader rushed 33 times for 188 yards and three touchdowns.
Strader is quick to credit Reade, who arrived in Geneseo in 1962, for creating a culture that would be fundamental to one of the state’s most successful football programs.
“He was just a leader of men,” said Strader. “Whether at Geneseo or Augustanta, if you wanted to play for Coach Reade, you better be ready to work, obey the law, and be a gentleman. You always knew he had your back. He wanted his players to do well on the football field, but more than anything, he wanted us to succeed in life. That always came through. He was as genuine as they come.”
For Strader, the memories from Geneseo’s 1976 title run are as vivid as ever.
“We worked hard at practice and we just got better throughout the season,” Strader said. “We were nasty good by the end of the year. When the final gun sounded, Coach Reade was the first person to get to me. He said, ‘You did it!’ and gave me a hug. I looked him right in the eyes and I said, ‘Coach, we did it.’ It still is emotional. To know at that moment that we won a state championship and we were going to bring that trophy home was huge.”
While Strader graduated from high school in 1977 and continued his academic and athletic career at the University of Illinois, the Green Machine kept rolling. It captured titles the next two years and again in 1982.
“I’m forever humbled and grateful to have played a small part in it,” said Strader. “I was just a guy who did his job. Hopefully this IHSA ranking says to the younger kids, ‘Hey, we can do this. It's been done around here before and we can do it again.’ It's just a huge honor. You think of all the high schools in Illinois, and to be in the top ten is really special.”
The IHSA is offering exclusive IHSA Top 50 Football Program sweatshirts and t-shirts for the schools who have been selected. Order your gear now.
Below: All-American fullback Wayne Strader celebrates winning the 3A state championship in 1976, a 20-12 victory over Metamora. (Courtesy of the Geneseo Republic)
