Camiliere, Bailey lead Kaneland to win

Rochelle marched 71 yards in 11 plays to open the game and scored again in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter.

But it was all Kaneland and the superlative duo of Joe Camiliere and Ryley Bailey in between in the Knights' 33-12 Western Sun Conference football opener Friday night in Rochelle.

Kaneland improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.

Camiliere, the Knights' second-year starting quarterback, accounted for 347 yards and four scores, but it was Bailey who was all over the place for Kaneland.

The senior wide receiver snared 9 passes for 100 yards and a critical fourth-down touchdown to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

But it was only an encore performance for the Knights' captain, who earlier in the game collaborated with Eric Tattoni on a hook-and-ladder play late in the first half to give Kaneland a 14-6 lead at the break.

Then, on the Hubs' first possession of the third quarter, Bailey recovered a fumble at the Knights' 2-yard line as Rochelle was desperately seeking the equalizer.

Camiliere proceeded to direct Kaneland 98 yards in nine plays, scoring his second rushing touchdown of the night from 38 yards away.

Rochelle (2-1 overall, 0-1) never recovered.

"We practiced that play (the hook and ladder) ever week," said Bailey, who caught a 10-yard pass from Camiliere and rifled a lateral to Tattoni for the final 20 yards. "We have our trick plays."

"That's a very difficult play to defend when it's executed properly," said Rochelle coach Kevin Crandall.

The score came with less than 12 seconds to play before the break, but Rochelle was driving deep in the red zone on its opening second-half possession when Bailey made the critical fumble recovery.

"I saw the ball come out and pounced on it," said Bailey. "I didn't want to give up any big plays on defense."

"We were just trying to get it out of our end zone," said Camiliere, who finished the night 21-for-31 through the air with two scores and 261 yards. "It was a total team effort. The blocking-from the line to the wide receivers-was outstanding all night."

Camiliere scored the backbreaker, giving Kaneland a 20-6 cushion, and ended up with 86 yards on the ground.

The Knights' defense was brilliant after the Hubs' game-opening drive, sacking Rochelle quarterback Brett Metzger four times for 27 yards in losses.

Camiliere capped his dual-threat evening with 15- and 41-yard strikes to Bailey and Blake Serpa.

"(Bailey) is a very special player," said Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly. 'I give him so much credit for all the work he does in the off-season. That's why he is one of our captains."