Geneva’s Tolver delivers in a pinch

Jo Jo Tolver was surprised when head coach Jeff Williams approached him with an idea a few days before the season started.

The junior Geneva wide receiver had no idea what Williams wanted to ask him when the coach approached him at practice.

“He told me he wanted to try me out at shotgun quarterback,” Tolver said. “He worked me in.

“It was a surprise, but I was ready to do it. I just stepped on in and did what I had to do.”

The elusive Tolver did not expect to see any action at quarterback in a game, especially early in the season.

But last Friday, with his team locked in a tight battle on the road against Rehobeth, Tolver found himself behind the center.

“Coach called me, and I was ready to go,” Tolver said.

Still wearing his wide receiver’s No. 81 jersey, and struggling to catch his breath at times, Tolver succeeded far beyond anyone’s expectations.

Tolver engineered the game-winning drive, as Geneva won 28-20. He led a 73-yard touchdown drive, including a key third-down conversion in which Tolver ran for a first down out of the shotgun formation.

“I think he put me there because of my footwork,” Tolver said. “If no one’s open, I can scramble. I love running it.”

Tolver said quickness and balance are keys to his ability to stay upright when running the ball, either from the quarterback spot or after catching a pass.

“When I get hit, I keep my feet moving,” Tolver said. “It’s hard to bring me down.”

The only thing close to bringing down Tolver on that final drive was fatigue.

Friday night’s game was Tolver’s first as a varsity player after moving up from junior varsity. The varsity’s extra four minutes per quarter were adding up, and he could feel the weariness working on him.

“The last three minutes of the game, it really kicked in,” Tolver said.

Tonight, Geneva opens region play against Daleville, and Tolver will be back to his wide receiver role to start the game. He said he’s OK with that, but he really enjoys playing quarterback.

“I like both of them, but quarterback, as soon as I get in there, I do what I do,” he said. “I won’t be starting (at QB), I’ll be starting at receiver.”

But if Williams should need him at quarterback again?

“I’ll be ready,” he said.