Camiliere hits 14 straight in Kaneland's win

Kaneland senior quarterback Joe Camiliere completed 14 consecutive passes, including 4 for touchdowns, and the Knights rolled to a 42-7 Northern Illinois Big 12 East division win during homecoming in Maple Park.

Camiliere misfired on his first pass of the night before collecting 261 aerial yards on his next 14 throws. He would complete 18-of-22 passes for 305 yards and 5 touchdowns as he benefitted from excellent protection.

"Out offensive line has really started to come together," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "It was good to see those guys pass block and protect (Camiliere)."

Kaneland (6-0, 2-0) didn't move the ball very well on its opening possession but a 52-yard punt by Blake Serpa pinned the Barbs deep. Two plays later and the Knights were ahead 2-0 as Jimmy Boyle and Nick Michels tackled DeKalb quarterback Brian Sisler in the end zone.

"We wanted to come out and play hard," Boyle said. "We just try to do what the coaches tell us to and stop everything."

DeKalb (3-3, 0-2) was stopped in its tracks most of the evening. The Barbs did manage one huge play, an 84-yard touchdown pass from Sisler to Dan Matya in the third quarter, but by that point the Knights were cruising.

Quinn Buschbacher (8 receptions, 152 yards) caught touchdown passes of 38, 28 and 15 yards to lead the Knights.

"Our offensive line did perfect today and Joe (Camiliere) executed so well," Buschbacher said. "I'm really happy with how we did today."

The Knights broke the game open in the second quarter when they scored 19 unanswered points.

They received a nice catch and run from Sean Carter for a 25-yard score. Later, they would only need two plays before Blake Serpa scampered in for a 45-yard touchdown run. They also put together a quick drive in the final 1:16 of the half that saw Camiliere gain yardage quickly with three straight completions of at least 24 yards. It then set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Camiliere to Jacob Razo that seemingly deflated the Barbs with 29 seconds remaining in the first half.

"We just try to find holes and do anything we can do to move the ball," Buschbacher said. "The coaching staff works so hard getting us ready for whoever we play."

Special teams often get overlooked, but once again the Knights set themselves up with good field position on their returns, received a booming punt by Serpa that led to the safety and freshman placekicker Matt Rodriguez blasted three touchbacks.

"It's hard to put drives together when that happens and that kid (Rodriguez) is a huge weapon for us as a freshman," Fedderly said. "The return game has been great all year and now teams are trying to keep it away, and Blake's done a nice job punting."

Of course, having now outscored opponents 265-49, Serpa hasn't had to punt often.