advertisement

Balluff leads Kaneland’s ground game

Better balance: While Kaneland came out throwing in the first half of its 35-14 victory over Rochelle Friday, the Knights showed in the second half they aren’t a one-dimensional offense.

Sophomore Jesse Balluff ran for 102 yards on 13 carries including a 5-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The score gave the Knights (5-0, 1-0 in the Northern Illinois Big 12 East) a 28-point lead over Rochelle, who had entered the game 4-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 5A.

“Jesse is a big weapon and he’s getting better every week,” Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. “We wanted to test him this week against a good, physical opponent, a team like Rochelle. We think the world of Jesse. He’s a real good running back.”

Offensive linemen Ben Kovalick, Alex Snyder, Zach Theis, Tom King and Shane Jorgensen started Friday’s game. They came out in pass protection mode as Drew David threw the ball 20 times for 260 yards helping the Knights open a 28-7 halftime lead.

Fedderly turned to the ground game more in the second half and Balluff and his line responded.

“Jesse is a work horse,” Kaneland senior wide receiver Quinn Buschbacher said. “The more tired he gets the harder he runs. And our offensive line does a great job, and he does a great job breaking tackles by himself. He’s a huge part of our offense.”

  Kaneland’s Jesse Balluff runs the ball through the Rochelle defense Friday at Kaneland High School. Steven Berczynski/ sberczynski@dailyherald.com