Bruno’s kicks, Kaneland’s defense too much for Wauconda

After scoring a touchdown on its opening possession, Kaneland didn’t find the end zone again the rest of the game.

It didn’t matter.

Samuel Bruno kicked 3 field goals, the Knights’ defense held Wauconda to a single score and Kaneland held on for a 16-7 nonconference win in Maple Park.

Carter Grabowski scored that first touchdown a little less than 5 minutes into the game. He finished with 130 yards on the ground as the Knights controlled most of the game. But they couldn’t dent the end zone again.

Bruno kicked field goals of 26, 26, and 23 yards. The Knights had other chances to score, but fumbled at the Wauconda 16-yard line and were stopped on downs at the 20.

But the defense made it stand up.

Jackson Rudolph matched Grabowski’s feat with a 13-yard, second-quarter run to nearly the same spot in the end zone. But that would be all the scoring for the Bulldogs.

Bruno made his last field goal with just under a minute left to make it a 2-score game. He has made 5 on the young season.

“That was one of the biggest kicks of my career, probably, to ice the game,” he said. “It felt really nice to hit that kick.”

It takes a team effort to make those kicks.

“We’ve got these 2 juniors, they just came up to varsity this year, Nick Warner and Luke Larson. They’ve both been holding, and they got the job done tonight.”

The Bulldogs had one last chance. After Bruno’s kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback, Wauconda quarterback Logan Olsen hit Nick Ori for a pair of 30-yard completions. Suddenly, the Bulldogs were at the Kaneland 20, talking about a quick score and an onside kick. But they ran out of time at the Kaneland 13.

Olsen finished 11-for-18 passing for 120 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.

His counterpart, Chase Kruckenberg, went 10-of-15 for 124 yards. Dylan Sanagustin had 72 yards from scrimmage with 3 receptions for 48 yards and 6 rushes for 24. He also recovered a muffed punt to set up Bruno’s first field goal.

Things couldn’t have started much worse for the visiting Bulldogs, who were penalized 3 times on their first 4 snaps. Even after a 9-yard Olsen completion on third down, they were forced to punt.

After a short kick, the Knights took over in good field position and needed just 4 plays for Grabowski to find the end zone.