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Mistakes cost Kaneland at Lincoln-Way Central

Kaneland won its season-opening football game last week without committing a penalty in the first half and without turning the ball over in the game.

The second game didn't go so well.

The Knights were called for a penalty on their first play from scrimmage, then threw an interception on their second Friday night at Lincoln-Way Central.

The hosts started their first drive at Kaneland's 4-yard line after the interception and scored 55 seconds into the game on the way to a 21-0 lead at halftime and a 28-14 victory.

"If you are going to be a good team you can't be a team that shoots yourself in the foot," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "You can't be a team that makes the mental errors. After the start last week it was almost the complete opposite. That is what I'm most disappointed about. That was a good team and I'm glad we played this team in Week 2, this was a good opportunity for us to come on the road and play a team bigger than us.

"But that was not the way we want to start."

Quarterback Jake Marczuk's pass was tipped and intercepted by Brandon Geagan. On Lincoln-Way's next play, Niko Muto plowed in from 4 yards for a quick 7-0 lead.

"That was a great start," Muto said. "Our defense stepped up and we put it right in. We moved the ball good. Our team came out fast and we were hitting hard."

It didn't take long for Lincoln-Way Central to strike again, this time quarterback Austin Strilko - who only completed 3 passes in the game - found Nolan Hayes over the middle for a 41-yard score to go up 14-0 with 6:18 left in the first quarter.

Kaneland had a couple extended drives in the first half but the closest the Knights came to scoring was a missed 25-yard field goal. Lincoln-Way Central punched in a third touchdown, Murto scoring from 11 yards out, to go into halftime up 21-0 despite Kaneland outgaining them 139-135.

Kaneland got on the scoreboard early in the third quarter on Marczuk's bubble screen to Tanner Robertsen who found a lane to go 63 yards to the end zone.

"We went in at halftime and talked about wanting to see guys come out and turning things around and make some positive plays in the second half," Fedderly said. "I was really proud to see us come back with a touchdown early in the third quarter, and we made some stops."

Kaneland held twice in the third quarter. Lincoln-Way Central faced a 4th-and-1 from its own 22-yard line on its third possession and went for it, getting the first down on Strilko's keeper. The drive eventually ended on Strilko's bootleg, a play that completely caught Kaneland off-guard and went for a 25-yard touchdown run untouched for a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Kaneland added its second touchdown in the final minute of the game on a 1-yard run by Zach Parker.

"I saw some positive things in the second half which encourages me after the poor start we had," Fedderly said. "We'll take a look at everything we're doing here and try to make the proper adjustments. We have a lot of seniors playing but we have some young kids too. There's going to be some learning with the younger kids. I think the seniors did a good job leading us in the second half."

Marczuk completed 15 of 26 passes for 159 yards. Freshman Jonathan Alstott rushed for 68 yards on 11 carries while Robertsen led the receivers with 5 catches for 112 yards.

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