Rochelle rolls up 616 rushing yards as Kaneland drops third straight game

While Kaneland found success through the air offensively, the Knights were no match defensively for the explosive rushing attack of the Rochelle Hubs, who rumbled for a season-high 616 yards on the ground during Friday’s pivotal Interstate 8 football matchup.

Quarterback Chase Kruckenberg was a bright spot for the Knights, completing 20-of-30 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns including two in the second half. But Kaneland found itself in a deep hole early, as Rochelle scored five first-half touchdowns to surge ahead and ultimately hand the Knights a 52-24 defeat. Still seeking its fifth win to clinch an at-large playoff berth, Kaneland (4-3, 1-3 Interstate 8) will look to bounce back against LaSalle-Peru next Friday.

“We have to keep fighting,” Kaneland head coach Mike Thorgesen said. “We’ve played three top-10 teams over the last three weeks. We have to get off the turf and keep playing ball. I thought our offense did good, but we’re banged up right now and we’re not at full health. We had three sophomores playing on defense tonight and that makes it tough to have success against a really good team like Rochelle. We have to bounce back and play our best ball.”

Both teams wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Rochelle received the opening kickoff and reached the end zone on its fourth play from scrimmage, when wingback Dylan Manning broke through the Kaneland defensive line for a 52-yard touchdown run. The Knights took just two plays to respond, making the score 8-7 Rochelle after Kruckenberg connected on a 24-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Vinny McDonald, who beat the Hub defense up the seam.

The remainder of the first half was dominated by the Hubs, who controlled the line of scrimmage and created gaping holes for their backs to gain chunks of yards. Tailback Grant Gensler reached the goal line on a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter before fullback Roman Villalobos barrelled forward for a 6-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Gensler rushed for a team-high 252 yards, while Villalobos rolled for 182 yards on the ground.

Defensively, Rochelle took command as well, sacking Kruckenberg three times in the first half to force punts that allowed the Hubs to keep moving offensively. The Knights were unable to move the ball on the ground, finishing with just 45 rushing yards on 24 total carries. Most of those yards came from Carter Grabowski, who the Hubs held to 40 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Leading 22-7, Rochelle continued to tear through the Kaneland defense in the second quarter, scoring two more rushing touchdowns including a 2-yarder from Villalobos and a 14-yarder from Gensler, who eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the season. The Knights earned a small victory before halftime, with kicker Sam Bruno drilling a 26-yard field goal through the uprights.

But the three points did little to erase the deficit, as Kaneland still trailed 38-10 at halftime. The Knights strung together some promising drives during the second half, with their first drive of the third quarter reaching the Rochelle 14-yard line. But a pair of unsuccessful runs and two incomplete passes, including one on a fourth-and-7 down at the 11, led to a turnover on downs.

The Hubs took advantage of the red-zone stand, scoring late in the third quarter on an 11-yard touchdown run by Manning, who finished with 175 rushing yards for the Rochelle offense. Despite the loss, Kaneland received a stellar effort from its senior quarterback Kruckenberg, who connected with Brady Alstott for a 6-yard touchdown near the end of the third quarter before launching a 59-yard touchdown throw to Dylan Sanagustin in the fourth quarter.

Sanagustin was the go-to target for the Knights, who saw the senior wide receiver catch eight passes for a team-high 154 yards. Kaneland totaled 352 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per play in the loss. Alstott was the team’s leading tackler with eight, while Grabowski added seven.

With an automatic playoff berth clinched, Rochelle (6-1, 3-1 Interstate 8) will conclude its conference schedule with a road matchup against the Ottawa Pirates next Friday evening.