Kaneland takes it one week at a time
By now Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly’s mantra is well-known.
His Knights look to go 1-0 this week as Kaneland (9-0) enters the Class 5A playoffs as a No. 1 seed hosting No. 16 seed Belvidere (5-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.
No basking in the afterglow of the Knights’ 31-28 win over Morris, which gave them their second straight Northern Illinois Big 12 East title, and consecutive 9-0 seasons to boot.
“We’re done patting ourselves on the back for winning conference,” Fedderly said. “That’s all over with. We’re going to make sure there’s no distractions and we’re prepared for what we’ve got to do.
“That was a big, emotional win and we’ve got to put that aside. That’s in the past now. It’s a new season.”
One figures it might be a short one for Belvidere given that Kaneland averages about 43 points a game and outscores opponents by nearly 27, but that’s just the mindset Fedderly wants to avoid.
With sophomore Drew David quarterbacking Kaneland’s spread offense to the tune of 33 touchdown passes to just 7 interceptions, there are few doubts which players Belvidere coach Matt Weckler will target.
Quinn Buschbacher has 45 receptions for 890 yards and 13 touchdowns, and fellow senior receiver Sean Carter has caught 35 passes for 649 yards and 12 touchdowns. Sophomore running back Jesse Balluff, while held in check the past few games, has run for 712 yards and 12 touchdowns.
No matter how many defenders Belvidere’s 3-4 defense can assign to Buschbacher, the three-year starter can do heavy damage elsewhere. Between punts and kickoffs Buschbacher’s 536 total return yards lifts his average all-purpose yardage to 173 a game.
Kaneland’s offensive line of Ben Kovalick, Nick Sharp, Shane Jorgensen, Zach Theis and Alex Snyder has limited pressure on the sophomore David.
“We have been stressing with him the last couple weeks just trying to keep it simple and making sure we do all the fundamentals right,” Fedderly said of David, who has completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,406 yards.
Defensively Kaneland’s 3-5 set will spy Marcus Gooden and Dan King, who have gained 499 and 388 yards rushing, respectively, out of the wishbone.
Quarterback Troy Vandenbroek, while running for 221 yards, has completed 53 of 124 (43 percent) of his passes for 986 yards, 13 touchdowns, 6 interceptions. His favorite receiver is Kyle Harris with 29 catches for 612 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Should Kaneland force this storied program to the air, Jacob Razo will be waiting. He picked off Morris twice last week to boost his total to 8 interceptions.
Razo, Buschbacher, Noel, Kovalick and Carter, the Knights’ captains, will certainly keep their teammates grounded.
“We’re asking our kids with all the experience — and we’ve got quite a few back — to lead the way and show our young kids what it takes to win in the playoffs,” Fedderly said. “The big thing is not looking down the road. We’ve just got to take care of this week.”