Kaneland falls to Huntley

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Nothing demoralizes a team more than being able to move the ball on offense only to give the possession away on a turnover before points go up on the board. That was the story of the night for Kaneland in a 17-14 loss to Huntley on Friday night at Bruce Peterson Field.

Two Knight fumbles and three interceptions ended time-consuming drives despite 417 yards of offense and a chance to win the game in the fourth-quarter.

"I'm really proud of our team with how they hung in there," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "Some things didn't go our way, but we're a good enough team to hang in right until the last play. I'm proud of the heart; that's a very good football team we played. We have to take a look at what we're doing and just correct some mistakes."

The Red Raiders appeared primed to go up 24-7 with a little over eight minutes left in the game, but a measurement on a fourth down at Kaneland's three-yard line came out in the Knights' favor. Junior quarterback Joe Camiliere rushed for 13 yards to the 16-yard line, then hit Tyler Andrews in stride over the middle for an 80-yard sprint to the six-yard line.

After a penalty and a four-yard pass completion, Camiliere hit Ryley Bailey on a seven-yard post to pull the Knights (1-1) within three. The catch was Bailey's second touchdown of the game and he finished the night with seven catches for 126 yards.

"We didn't have an answer for (Bailey)," Huntley coach Steve Graves said. "He's one of the best receivers we've stepped on the field with in a long time. He had us spinning out there. Every time in the first half when we fully committed to going after the quarterback, he had us one-on-one and we couldn't rush like we wanted."

After the defense got the ball back for the Knight offense, Camiliere was picked off while rushing to avoid a sack attempt. The defense again held after a Huntley (2-0) drive, this time by inches as Taylor Andrews stopped Red Raider quarterback Timothy Lycos as he scrambled towards the end zone on a fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line.

Needing to gobble up 99 yards in 1:08, Camiliere found running room on fourth down, escaping for 35-yards to the Knight 45-yard line. One play later, the game was over after an overthrow of Bailey, again on a post down the middle.

"We went to it one time too many at the end and they got it," Fedderly said. "Riley's a tremendous athlete and he had a great game."

Camiliere finished 23-of-36 for 310 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 69 yards on six carries, but also threw the three interceptions and fumbled on a rush attempt.

"We had a couple fumbles and a couple interceptions," Fedderly said. "A couple of them were tipped balls. The bounces didn't go our way tonight."