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Kaneland blows by Huntley

For Kaneland sophomore quarterback Drew David, good times never seemed so good — or so easy. After tossing two touchdown passes a week ago, David threw four touchdown passes to lead the Knights to a 34-13 victory over Huntley.

While the young quarterback is off to a great start, he was quick to give credit to his teammates and knows he still has work to do to get better.

“I’m really lucky this year,” David said. “I have two great wide receivers in Quinn (Buschbacher) and (Sean) Carter, which really helps out, and having an experienced offensive line really helps me out a lot. I still have things I need to focus on to improve, but so far it’s been a great feeling.”

Knights coach Tom Fedderly said David came into the game wanting to prove he can play even better than he did last week.

“I think this (game) does a lot for his confidence,” Fedderly said. “He felt last week that he didn’t really play his best game and he wanted to come out and prove something, so I’m really happy for him.”

Huntley (0-2) started the scoring off with a 33-yard touchdown run by junior Ethan Connor on the Raiders second play from scrimmage with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. However, it was all Kaneland after that, as the Knights went on to score 34 unanswered points.

A 35-yard kickoff return by Buschbacher put the Knights at midfield, and Kaneland (2-0) tied the game 7-7 two plays later on a 47-yard run by sophomore Jesse Balluff exactly one minute after the Raiders scored. Balluff appeared stalled for no gain, but suddenly emerged from the pile and sprinted down the right sideline.

Jacob Razo recovered a fumble for Kaneland at the 28-yard line on the Raiders next possession, and David hit Carter from 31 yards out three plays later to put the Knights up 14-7.

After a scoreless second quarter, the Knights offense came out in the second half and exploded for three more scores. Huntley’s defense had been successful in the first half with blitzes up the middle, but the Knights made the adjustment in the second half, which gave David more time to throw.

“The line was doing a great job in the first half, but I wasn’t hitting my passes,” David said. “In the second half, we switched some things around and I started hitting my passes.”

Fedderly and his staff made an adjustment that allowed Buschbacher to get open for three receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown in the second half.

“We saw how they were aligned on us in a certain formation, so we saw how we could come out in the second half and take advantage of a couple of things with Quinn (Buschbacher) on the back side,” Fedderly said.

On the Knights first possession of the third quarter, Balluff ran the ball for 26 yards to the Raider 40-yard line and David hit Carter to go the final 40 yards on the next play and give the Knights a 21-7 lead.

Junior Zach Theis recovered another Raider fumble on the 15-yard line and David found Buschbacher from 15-yards out to give the Knights a commanding 28-7 lead. The Knights scored their final touchdown just seconds into the fourth quarter when David hit junior Kyle Pollastrini for a 10-yard touchdown pass. The drive started on the Knights own 5-yard line, but back-to-back passes of 20 yards and 46 yards to Buschbacher got the Knights inside the 20 to set up the eventual score.

The Raiders scored on a 17-yard run by quarterback Jake Brock with 3:57 left in regulation.

“We have some things to work on, but I’m really happy for the kids,” Fedderly said. “I was really excited to see us come back and get up 14-7 just to see what kind of character our kids have.”

Huntley head coach Matt Gehrig felt that the three turnovers were just too much to overcome.

“No matter what, the miscues and lack of execution hurt us,” Gehrig said. “The opportunities were there, but we just didn’t capitalize on them. You can run for all the yards you want, but if you don’t cross the goal-line, it doesn’t matter.”