By Nick Philips, Editor

The house was packed and there was no disappointment.

The homecoming varsity football game between Rochelle and Kaneland was witnessed by a packed Peterson Field. Both Rochelle and Kaneland entered the game undefeated with 4-0 records. It was each of the schools’ first conference game.

Kaneland got off to a hot start by scoring a touchdown on their first drive thanks to a 27-yard touchdown run by senior Quinn Buschbacher.

“I think the first touchdown by Quinn [Buschbacher] really set the tone for the game,” said sophomore quarterback Drew David.

The run by Buschbacher was just one of four touchdowns scored in the first half by the Knights. He also racked up multipurpose yardage that exceeded 200 yards.

David threw for 261 yards, threw for three touchdowns and also had a pair of interceptions in the first half of the game. A strong performance on the defensive side of the ball by the Knights helped minimize the damage after the turnovers.

“I think the defense getting stops and being able to get it to our playmakers on offense and allowing them to make stuff happen has been the key for us,” said David.

The defense shutting down the offense helped get the Knights’ potent offense back onto the field, giving them more opportunities to put more points on the board.

Sophomore Gary Koehring believes the reason for the strong defensive play is “probably out coaching and our senior leadership” and also added that there’s still room for improvement.

Kaneland went into halftime leading 28-7.

Other key contributors included senior wide receiver Sean Carter and sophomore running back Jesse Balluff. Balluff racked up 101 rushing yards and punched a 10-yard run into the end zone. Carter had four receptions totaling 101 yards with two touchdown receptions.

Kaneland took down Rochelle by a final of 35-14 to win their Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference game this season. The Knights are now 5-0 and head to DeKalb next week.