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Franklin's field goal wins it for Kaneland

There are posters throughout English classrooms advising to "avoid clichés like the plague."

But the football game between Kaneland and Belvidere North underscored the nature of the sport being capable of the difference measured by a ruler.

Kaneland kicker Drew Franklin was the ultimate beneficiary on Friday night in Maple Park as the Knights' kicker converted a 24-yard field goal with 61-seconds remaining.

Kaneland had to withstand a long field-goal attempt as time expired, but the Knights advanced in the Class 6A playoffs with the 33-31 victory.

The Knights (7-3), barring a monumental upset by Wauconda on Saturday, will face top-seeded and undefeated Montini in the second round.

The Blue Thunder, the ninth seed to the Knights' No. 8 draw, finished 6-4.

Franklin barely missed an extra point moments earlier, but the senior was given new life when Belvidere North went against all conventional wisdom by attempting to convert a fourth down in its own territory.

The Kaneland defense stopped the bid by inches to take over at the Blue Thunder 36-yard line.

"I was honestly pretty shocked (Belvidere North did not punt)," Franklin said. "I was upset with myself (for missing the conversion). (The game-winner) was a routine kick. I just had to make it."

The game featured a masterful athletic dichotomy between the starting quarterbacks.

Kaneland signalcaller Jake Marczuk and his opposite number, Belvidere North junior Bennett O'Connell, engineered their teams' 4-touchdown nights in completely different fashion.

Marczuk was 16-for-23 passing for 3 scores, including 5 passes in excess of 25 yards, in throwing for 313 yards

The senior connected with Tyler Paulson from 58 yards out to open the scoring in the first and helped the Knights' overcome a 10-point third-quarter deficit by also collaborating for second-half scores with Paulson and Tanner Robertson.

The former tied the game at 24-24 entering the last quarter as Marczuk evaded a sure sack on third down to hit Paulson for their second scoring hookup.

"I really don't know how (I escaped their defensive lineman)," Marczuk said. "It was all from my heart and having my brothers out there. Paulson made a great play."

But the Knights' passing arsenal was needed to counteract the stinging personal ground game authored by O'Connell.

The junior called his own number 24 times, scoring three times in the process - all from double-digit distances - including a 33-yard run to give the Thunder its first lead late in the second quarter.

O'Connell had a game-high 185 yards.

"My individual plays - sometimes they're some of our easiest plays," O'Connell said. "It was a very close spot (on the late fourth-and-long-one). It could have gone either way."

"I was just glad to get another opportunity," Marczuk said.

The senior sneaked in from a yard out to give Kaneland a 14-10 lead at the break.

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