On Friday, Aug. 29, the Kaneland varsity football team took the two-hour drive out west to take on the Rock Island Rocks for their season opener. The Knights wasted no time getting on the board, as senior running back and safety Carter Grabowski took back the opening kickoff 80 yards to the house.
“I kind of just saw the hole, and hit the hole. Takes a lot of pressure off the team when you can have start the season like that,” Grabowksi said. The long return sent a jolt of energy through the Kaneland crowd and stunned the other side of the stadium. The two fanbases had completely different reactions.
“I think that got us all excited,” head coach Michael Thorgesen said. “He returned a kickoff on the first kick. It’s going to get everybody fired up.”
The Kaneland side of the field, with parents and fans barely having any time to find their sets, erupted with cheers. And those cheers didn’t stop throughout the game. After the defense quickly forced a punt on Rock Island’s first offensive series, Grabowski again found the end zone with a long rushing touchdown from around midfield, which he credited to junior offensive linemen Jackson Valentini who had a great block on the outside. After another defensive stand, senior quarterback Jalen Carter found his first signature moment with the Knights, airing out a long 71-yard passing touchdown to fellow senior Brady Brown. But before the Knights could send out the extra point unit, a lightning warning hit the area and the game was delayed. Fans and players evacuated quickly, having to wait around 80 minutes to see more action from the Knights.
Senior and first time kicker Noah McKittrick showed no signs of being iced, knocking in the extra point to make it 21-0 Knights after the lengthy delay. The next two scores from the Knights were again courtesy of Grabowski and his legs. Then, right before half time, Carter again struck through the air, bootlegging to his right and finding junior tight end and linebacker Jackson Little, who put his head down and plowed his way into the end zone. That gave Kaneland a 42-0 lead going into the weather-shortened halftime.
Just like the first play of the first half, the Knights came out of the break ready, swarming Rock Island’s returner and forcing a safety. That was all the scoring the Knights had. Many starters sat out the rest of the second half. Rock Island finally found their way into the end zone, capitalizing on a fumble from sophomore quarterback Brody Guthrie and taking it all the way back. That ended up being all the scoring, as the Knights got to line up in victory formation and knee down the final play. It was a punishing game all the way through for the Knights.
“I think we could spread a lot of the credit all around,” Thorgeson said. “I thought our offense was clicking, and I thought our defense hit exceptionally well.”
The physicality doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but it was clear the Knights took a toll on the Rocks physically.
“You can hear [the hits] throughout the stands. The contact we were making,” Grabowksi said. “So hopefully we can bring that intensity over into next week, not let up.”
The message is clear for the Knights going into next week.
“We’re just going to play hard, play tough, hustle, execute and practice hard,” Thorgesen said.
Kaneland’s next game is their first one at home, as they will take on Lemont High School on Friday, Sept. 5 at 7:00 p.m. .
