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Kaneland routs Geneva for 2nd straight win

The high-flying Kaneland offense was grounded in the second half of Friday's 42-14 nonconference win at Geneva.

By choice.

Kaneland (2-0) led 21-7 late in the second quarter when quarterback Joe Smith - whose 224 first-half passing yards included touchdown throws to seniors Trevor Carlson and Ian Diehl - was intercepted a second time by Geneva junior cornerback Michael Ignoffo.

A two-way player, Ignoffo subsequently rambled 34 yards upfield on a middle screen pass. He then slipped behind the defense and hauled in a 25-yard scoring throw from junior Hayden McCoy with 19 seconds left in the half to trim Kaneland's lead to 21-14.

The Knights opted not to throw a single pass in the second half. Instead, they relied on junior Jack McIntire. He split carries last week with senior Wilson Giffney, who did not play due to an injury.

Following his offensive line of center Alex Slou, guards Miles Ripper and Sam Pryor and tackles Justin Jamrowski and John Davis, McIntire rushed for 119 of his 146 yards in the second half.

His longest run was a 62-yarder that came three plays after teammate Jimmy Marczuk intercepted McCoy. That run set up the second of Smith's two short third-quarter touchdown runs.

"At halftime we buttoned some things up, came out here and played hard," McIntire said. "We figured it out and were good to go."

The Knights rushed for 225 yards, 189 in the second half.

"I said we've got to come together and win this game, keep our composure and settle down," Kaneland coach Pat Ryan said of the halftime conversation. "We kind of came out and said 'Let's stick it to them in the second half.' And I thought we did a good job of doing that.

Geneva (0-2), which lost last week's season opener to Notre Dame 49-7, was limited to 159 total yards. It didn't help that Ignoffo did not play after halftime due to dehydration.

The Vikings finished with 48 rushing yards on 27 carries. Most of that was gained by junior Matt Osborne, who had 46 yards on 18 totes.

"The tape will tell the tale, but we feel like we improved a lot," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "We were really doing a lot of bad stuff in that first game. We think we squared up a lot of our assignments. The kids fought hard. He fought hard."

The Kaneland defense has allowed 14 points in eight quarters this season.

"Our goal was to play four full quarters, not three and a half," said Carlson, who intercepted a pass while playing outside linebacker. "We just outplayed them and got the win."

Images: Kaneland vs. Geneva football

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