Kaneland rallies late to edge Rochelle

Andrew Eberle is far from a gaudy physical specimen.

But the Kaneland defensive back used all of his 160 pounds to derail the Rochelle comeback hopes Friday in Maple Park during the Western Sun football Conference opener.

Rochelle running back Austin Gabriel took a quick pitch on a fourth-and-four play, only to have his first-down attempt come up inches short on a textbook tackle by Eberle.

Kaneland had taken the lead on the previous possession, and the Eberle hit with two-plus minutes remaining enabled the Knights to hold off Rochelle 16-12.

Kaneland improved to 2-1 overall, 1-0 in the conference; Rochelle is 2-1, 0-1.

"I just saw (Gabriel) run to the outside and I tried to get out there as fast as I could," Eberle said.

"That was a huge play," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "We have a different team this year, and we want to emphasize the defense."

Joe Camiliere accounted for all but 10 of the Knights' 283 total yards; the sophomore quarterback had 201 yards passing and 72 more on the ground as Kaneland took the lead for good with 4:21 to play.

Connecting on five consecutive passes, the last of which was a 37-yarder to Pat Fleming, Camiliere moved the team 82 yards in nine plays, capping the four-minute drive with a quarterback draw from 4 yards out.

"We had the right look, and I audibled," Camiliere said. "The line just pushed the pile through, and we got in. The defense played very well. They gave us the ball back in good field position all night."

Fleming, who put Kaneland on the board with a 21-yard touchdown reception less than two minutes into the game, finished with four catches for 71 yards.

The 37-yard connection between Fleming and Camiliere was not only the longest play from scrimmage all evening, it gave Kaneland first and goal at the Hubs' 5-yard line.

"Originally, I was supposed to do a hitch and go," Fleming said. "But their corner came up and I just went with the fade route and beat him."

Rochelle had one final offensive opportunity after the Eberle tackle, but an illegal block derailed the Hubs' last-ditch chance.

The Hubs took the lead late in the second quarter; Ben Schwartz blocked a punt and recovered it in the same motion for their first score.

After Chris Ott converted a 34-yard field goal to give Kaneland a 10-6 lead, Nate Eyster capped a 16-play, nine-minute drive with a 4-yard keeper around right end.

The Hubs recovered fumbles twice on the 80-yard march, but the drops proved to be a harbinger of things to come.

"Turnovers (two) and penalties killed us," Rochelle coach Kevin Crandall said. "Kaneland made plays, and we didn't. We just didn't play well enough offensively."