Elgin 35, Kankakee 26
KANKAKEE -- It wasn't always pretty, but the Elgin football team will accept the win and the 2-1 record.
The Maroons gained 206 yards in the first half compared to host Kankakee's 43 but had only a 14-12 lead to show for it at intermission because twice the Kays were able to cash in on the short fields Elgin gave them.
But for a span of 2:36 of the third quarter, Elgin gave the Kays nothing and took everything on the way to a 35-26 nonconference victory at Spurs Stadium.
Kankakee (1-2) threatened to take the lead early in the third quarter when backup quarterback Jonathon Corbett found Runder Smith wide open behind the Elgin defense for a 92-yard reception.
Smith streaked down the right sideline and looked like he would score, but hustling Elgin defensive back Tom Bowers, playing with a cast on one arm, caught Smith and dragged him down at the 2-yard line.
"I knew I was quicker than him so I kept running, dove at the 5-yard line and got him," Bowers said.
Bowers' hustle play proved huge because on the next snap Elgin nose guard Terrell Walker knifed through the line, hit Corbett for a loss and caused a fumble that Elgin linebacker Robert Hayes recovered at the Elgin 10-yard line.
"I'm trying to make all-conference this year," said Walker, also an excellent wrestler. "I know making big plays at big times is what they look for, and I knew I had a shot of getting in there real quick."
On offense, Elgin's play starts with senior running back Kenny Williams. In the first half Williams had been bottled up on one play, so he busted it outside and scored on an improvised 31-yard scamper.
After Walker gave the Maroons the ball back in the third quarter, Williams, Walker's cousin, pulled the bounce-off trick once again. Bottled up this time on an off-tackle run to the left side, Williams took two steps back from the pileup, burst toward the left sideline, picked up a great block from James Duncan, who took out two Kays and raced 84 yards up the sideline for his third touchdown of the night. It was Williams' second rushing touchdown and it gave Elgin a 21-12 lead.
"We talk all the time in practice about stock blocking," Williams said of Duncan's block. "That's the biggest thing because once we get on the side I don't think anyone's going to catch our backs."
Williams finished with 200 yards on 20 carries and caught 1 pass from junior quarterback Tom Roth for a 44-yard touchdown.
But the Maroons weren't done. Jamal Cook sacked Corbett, who fumbled. The ball was again recovered by Hayes, and the Maroons converted on the next play when Roth rolled right and found Juan Morales behind the Kankakee safety in the end zone for a 15-yard scoring strike that gave Elgin a 28-12 lead with 8:18 left in the third quarter.
Corbett fumbled on Kankakee's next snap at his own 21-yard line, Elgin recovered and Roth scored 3 plays later on a bootleg for Elgin's third touchdown in a span of 2:36 that bulged the lead to 35-12 with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter.