Kaneland takes show on the road
“Back in Black” has been a huge hit with Kaneland's home crowd.
If the Knights plan on shaking Vernon Hills all Saturday afternoon long in this Class 5A quarterfinal, they'll have to do it in their away uniforms.
“It's going to be a little bit different,” admitted Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly. “We're going to have to handle ourselves on the road. We've got to be able to handle that bus trip and play somewhere we haven't been. It seems like we haven't had a road game forever.”
No. 1 seed Kaneland (11-0) hosted both its first-round shellacking of King and then No. 8 Crystal Lake Central, which Kaneland dispatched 34-7 due largely to Joe Camiliere's 261 yards passing and Kyle Davidson's key fumble recovery. Kaneland's last road trip was more than a month ago, Oct. 8 at Yorkville.
In the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006 and seeking its first semifinal since then, too, the Knights last played a road playoff game two years ago, losing 23-21 at Sterling. The five Knights who played there Camiliere, Taylor Andrews, Jimmy Boyle, Tyler Callaghan and Blake Serpa will be expected to settle their teammates on the long ride to Vernon Hills.
There may be some nerves on that bus. With the possible exception of Dixon's Preston Lumzy, No. 4 seed Vernon Hills (10-1) fields football athletes Kaneland probably hasn't seen since Sycamore's Marckie Hayes bounced the Knights from last year's playoffs.
They're big names bound for big colleges. Evan Spencer is headed to Ohio State where his father, Tim, was a star. DaVaris Daniels is the son of former Chicago Bear and current Washington Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels, and is committed to Notre Dame.
Each listed at receiver-defensive back, they do more than that. Daniels returns kicks and takes direct snaps out of the Wildcat formation, which he's done 49 times for 549 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the Cougars' 37-22 second-round win over Tinley Park he ran for 153 yards and 3 touchdowns on 8 carries. He's also caught 20 passes for 445 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Spencer's receiving numbers are 16-289-6.
The Cougars also offer senior running back Brian Palmer, who out of coach Tony Monken's triple-option has run for 588 yards and 11 touchdowns; and quarterback Chris Argianas, who has passed just 53 times for 568 yards and 8 touchdowns. Perhaps the scariest part is not Vernon Hills' 41-point average but its 4.5 points allowed. The Cougars pitched seven straight shutouts until falling 21-0 to playoff team Lake Forest, and beat Harlan 51-0 in their playoff opener.
Kaneland will see firsthand if that has to do with the Cougars' strength of schedule in the North Suburban Prairie, or if these cats are legit.
Kaneland counters with its slew of athletes listed above plus the likes of receiver-defensive back Quinn Buschbacher, who leads the Knights in receiving with 44 grabs for 717 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Fedderly also is counting on kicker Matt Rodriguez's touchback ability and Serpa's punting to give Vernon Hills a long field.
After all, as Vernon Hills has found, it's a long way to the top if you want to make a Class 5A semifinal.
“What we always keep telling the guys,” Fedderly said, “is we've just got to keep moving the chains on offense and catch the ball and good things happen.”