Kaneland wins thriller on Ott's clutch kick
It's often said in sports that it's not how you start, but rather how you finish. Kaneland spotted Sycamore a quick touchdown on an interception, but finished strong to earn a 38-35 victory in the closing seconds.
Chris Ott's 17-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in regulation broke a 35-35 tie to give the host Knights their second Western Sun Conference win of the season.
The game didn't exactly start the way the Knights were hoping, as sophomore quarterback Joe Camilliere's first pass of the game was intercepted by Spartan linebacker Ryan Ericson and returned 30 yards for a touchdown.
Camilliere, however, bounced back quickly and finished the game strong, passing for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"That shows how tough that sophomore (Camilliere) is," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "To do that, and then to come back down on the next drive to lead us to a score. He learned his lesson, and I'm just really proud of Joe because he came back really big for us."
Camilliere indicated that he focused on the upcoming plays, rather than his initial mistake.
"It definitely wasn't the start I wanted to have, but everybody stepped up and picked me up tonight," Camilliere said. "I try to have a short memory and just worry about the next play, and everybody really came around tonight."
With Sycamore (3-1, 1-1) leading 6-0, Camilliere led the Knights right back down the field on their ensuing possession, driving 71 yards on seven plays to take a 7-6 lead. Camilliere hit Hayden Johnson for a 32-yard play and a subsequent 12-yarder to close into the red zone, and Tyler Suerth took it in from 4 yards out three plays later.
The Spartans scored on their next possession as well when quarterback Michael Buckner hit running back Tom Hensley on a short slant pattern that turned into a 47-yard touchdown.
Camilliere and the Knights appeared to stall on the 33-yard line on their next drive, but the young quarterback found Johnson (8 receptions for 129 yards) once again for a 36-yard gain, and a 13-yard pass to Ryley Bailey on the next play helped set up Camilliere's 10-yard touchdown run.
Joe Dougherty's 1-yard run and Josh Davey's 2-point conversion reception put the Spartans up 21-14 to begin the second quarter, and after the Knights had to punt, it looked like the momentum was solidly in the favor of Sycamore.
The Spartans, however, fumbled on their first play from scrimmage and Ben Bradford was there to recover the ball for the Knights on the Spartan 24. Camilliere didn't waste anytime, connecting with junior Pat Fleming on a slant to tie the game at 21.
It appeared as though it was going to continue going back and forth, as the Spartans drove the ball down to the Knights 3-yard line, but Suerth recovered a fumble to give the Knights the ball back with 2:39 remaining in the half. After several runs, Camilliere found fellow sophomore Tyler Callaghan for a 27-yard pass inside the 20, and Callaghan caught a 1-yard touchdown pass with 9 seconds remaining.
The second half didn't have as much scoring, but what it lacked in offense, it gained in defense.
After Buckner scored on a 25-yard run for the Spartans on their first possession of the second half, the Knights defense began to get stingy. Kaneland (3-1, 2-0) forced the Spartans to punt on their next two possessions and Sycamore turned the ball over on downs shortly after.
Meanwhile, Suerth found the end zone from 19 yards out for the Knights to put them back up 35-28. The Spartans tied the game with 2:54 remaining on a 4-yard run by Marckie Hayes.
Camilliere came through for the Knights once again. With the Knights facing third and five on their own 48, Camilliere dropped back to pass, pumped once to Blake Serpa, and then threw a perfect strike to Serpa for a 22-yard gain to set up Ott's game-winning field goal.
"Sycamore has a great team, so we knew it was going to go right down to the wire," Fedderly said. "(Ott has) been tremendous for us. It seems like every practice he's getting better, so we had all of the confidence in the world in Chris Ott."