Geneva makes Knights' life miserable

Kaneland quarterback Joe Camiliere has proved to be very dangerous when he's comfortable in the pocket.

He wasn't comfortable very often on Friday night at Geneva.

The Vikings had the sophomore scrambling from the pocket and rushing his throws all evening as they routed the Knights 42-7 in Western Sun Conference action.

"We had a goal of 10 sacks which probably isn't realistic but we were trying to get as much pressure on him as we could," Geneva defensive end Cory Hofstetter said. "I think we did an all-right job. We were in there most of the night."

Kaneland (4-4, 3-3) found itself with poor field position throughout the game and finally averted a shutout midway through the fourth quarter on Tyler Suerth's 62-yard run.

"The strength of our team has been the defense the whole year and we knew we could be pretty strong upfront," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "I thought the defense put down a real good game plan. I was happy to see that and they executed."

While the defense made things uneasy for the Knights all evening, the Vikings offense was firing on all cylinders. On this occasion it wasn't just Michael Ratay benefiting from the strong play of the offensive line, but quarterback Brandon Beitzel, wide receiver Jason Holmes and fullback Drew Fagot.

Geneva (8-0, 6-0) got a kick-start to its first touchdown after the defense sacked Camiliere for a 15-yard loss followed by a Jacob Landau interception. Three plays later and Ratay hammered it home from 13 yards out.

The Vikings later made it 14-0 on Fagot's 71-yard run. Fagot would add a 40-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter which instituted the running clock.

Sandwiched between Fagot's second touchdown of the night were 55- and 43-yard touchdown passes from Beitzel to Holmes and Ratay's 27th touchdown of the season.

"Beitzel and the wideouts have had very good practices the last three or four weeks and even longer," Wicinski said. "So they've readily gotten better but just haven't been able to prove it on the field. Tonight they were able to pitch and catch like we've asked them and I was really pleased for all of them."

While Ratay has been virtually unstoppable all season, there had been concern over the development of a passing game to complement the rushing attack.

"It always seemed like we were just inches off on every pass play," Holmes said. "Tonight we finally connected, the line gave Beitzel time and we made the plays. It's great to take some of the pressure off of Michael."

Less pressure on Ratay could lead to more stress on opposing teams, which would bode well for the Vikings against Batavia next week and into the playoffs. Geneva won at least a share of the Western Sun Friday - the fifth straight - and can win it outright with a win next week.

"We usually aim for 50/50 but usually can't get it," Holmes said. "Tonight it was good to get the passing going and hopefully it continues."

Kaneland will need to quickly forget about this loss and focus on Yorkville next week. The Knights need to beat the Foxes for an opportunity to return to the postseason.