Knights blank Foxes, sit squarely on bubble

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MAPLE PARK -- Kaneland's football team needed a win Friday over winless Yorkville, and probably some help, to get back to the playoffs after missing out last season.

The only thing the Knights could do Friday, however, was control what they could control. And they did just that with a dominating, 34-0 Western Sun Conference win in rainy, sloppy conditions.

"We had to get to five wins to even have a chance," Kaneland sophomore quarterback Joe Camiliere said. "That was the whole thing, just get a win and see what happens."

The game was delayed for 35 minutes and was one lightning strike away from being postponed until Saturday. But the weather cleared up just enough to play the game. It took both teams some time to adjust to the sloppy conditions, but Kaneland (5-4, 4-3 WSC) finally cracked the scoreboard on its third possession when Camiliere hit Blake Serpa from 5 yards out with 11:10 left in the second.

Camiliere connected with Ryley Bailey from 11 yards out on the Knights' next possession to open a 14-0 lead at the half.

But Yorkville (0-9, 0-7) felt good going into the break down only two scores and receiving the second half kickoff. Unfortunately for the Foxes, they tried to go deep on the first play of the half and Luke Parece was picked off by Kaneland's Blake Kendrick. After each team exchanged possessions after that, Serpa broke loose for a 45-yard touchdown to push the lead to 21-0 and take control of the game.

"We felt good even though we hadn't done a whole lot," Yorkville coach Jim Still said. "We came in and made some adjustments and we thought we'd take a shot coming out, go vertical because we were dinking and dunking, and the ball didn't come out well and they picked it off and they got the momentum and away they went."

Camiliere threw his third touchdown pass of the game, a 35-yarder to Hayden Johnson, later in the third. Bailey added a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth to cap the scoring.

Despite the wet conditions, Camiliere was still able to complete 14 of 23 passes for 201 yards and the three scores. He also added 103 yards rushing on 19 carries to lead the Knights.

"(The rain) did affect us," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "We still passed the ball effectively. It was nice to see we could run the ball when we needed to. I was happy with what we did."

Yorkville struggled offensively all night. The Foxes did not have a first down in the first half and Parece threw three second-half interceptions.

All Kaneland can do is watch for the playoff pairings later tonight and hope Friday's win will be enough to end a one-year hiatus from the postseason.

"I'm nervous," Fedderly said. "You just never know. There are so many 5-3 and 4-4 teams (going into Friday). A lot of things have to go our way."