KANKAKEE -- There were several times Saturday when the Morris High School football team had Kankakee on the ropes.
The Redskins owned leads of 14-0 and 21-6 during their Class 5A quarterfinal showdown with the Kays.
But Kankakee bounced off the proverbial mat and raced to a 36-21 victory over the Redskins.
"We knew watching the film that Kankakee had a lot of team speed," Morris coach George Dergo said. "They have big-play capability and they certainly used that against us in the game today.
"We wanted to get up early which we were able to accomplish. But as the game progressed, Kankakee's offensive weapons and speed were a load for us to handle."
The Redskins (7-5), who won their opening playoff games with victories over Chicago Manley and Sterling, looked sharp in the early going.
On the Kays' opening series, Morris senior Tim Sereno recovered a fumble at the Kays' 37-yard line. Five plays later, quarterback Matt Hussey threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Henry with 7:00 remaining in the first quarter.
Kankakee (9-3) drove deep into Morris territory during the second quarter. But Adam Tondini intercepted a pass to end the drive.
Hussey drove Morris 77 yards in 10 plays for another score -- a 17-yard pass from the senior quarterback to Tyler Thetard with 9:58 remaining in the first half.
The big play in that series was a 32-yard completion from Hussey to Matt Gronek. That advanced the ball to the 25.
In the first half, Hussey completed 7-of-9 passes for 115 yards.
Jalon Banks (168 rushing yards on 18 carries) and Render Smith (12 for 70) helped get Kankakee back into the game. Michael Wright concluded Kankakee's first scoring march with a 3-yard run with 6:39 remaining.
However, Morris was undaunted by the Kay's initial TD. A 40-yard kick return by Gronek set the stage for what would be the Redskins' final touchdown.
Adam Tondini scored on a 1-yard run with 2:43 remaining in the first half to make it 21-6.
But the Kays would score twice before the half was over. Banks' 27-yard TD run, along with Render's Smith's conversion run, cut the margin to 21-14.
Charles Smith threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Julian Bogan with 14 seconds left. Banks' conversion run put Kankakee ahead for good, 22-21.
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