It's the battle of the undefeated. With both teams built on speed and with the game be playing on the turf of ISU, there will be plenty of action Friday night when the Knights take on the Nashville Hornets for the Class 3A IHSA State Championship.

Nashville (13-0), with a student enrollment of 570, has out scored it's opponents 378-146 this season, compared to Kaneland (13-0), with 631 students, which has out scored the enemy 512-151.

Nashville (who was 10-1 last year before losing to Harrisburg in the playoffs, 45-0), is located way down south in the tip of the state and will present the Knights plenty of problems. Reason being, they are a lot like the Knights, not a typical grind-em out run oriented team 'from down south', but rather a balance of running and passing.

This is the farthest Nashville has ever gotten in Football. They have reached the quarterfinals several times before, but never the semifinals or the finals. They do however have a long history of state appearances in basketball and two straight team trophies in track .

Nashville is primary a basketball town. The last two years they have made it to state and are expected to win the big one in basketball this year.

The expectations were not as high for the football team when the season started. But, as the team kept winning the excitement level kept raising to point as one fan puts it, "Things are kind a wild down here."

The current group of seniors are just a very athletic group of kids. The team is built on speed. If you believe a good track team will have an impact on the football team, then that could be the reason Nashville is successful. Two years ago Nashville got 2nd and last year they tied Chicago Leo for the State Title in Class A track. And they should be the favorite again this year for the state track title.

Nashville runs a double wing formation and has a three-tiered offensive approach: power football first, option if needed and last, but not least, passing .

In the second round they passed only twice while running back Justin Morris alone rushed for over 190 yards. The next week they passed 29 times for 270+ yards.

They have seven players that go two-ways. Their key players are QB Kelly Cruser (903 yards and 8 TD's passing, plus 372 yards rushing), running back Justin Morris (956 yards and 19 TD's), and running back/wide receiver Zach Borowiak with nearly 1,000 combined yards and 9 TD's.

Cruser and Borowiak, along with 6'-6" defensive star, place kicker and punter Brain Piasecki are starters on the basketball team.

The Hornets average 212 pounds on their offensive line. The biggest lineman is 250 pounds, but most Hornet lineman are 200-210. The Knights defensive line meanwhile averages 224.

The Defense like the offense is built on speed. They run a 4-4 defense and try to make people throw the ball. The Hornets defensive line averages a very small 188 pounds while the Knights will counter with a 215 pound front five. And now you know why they are quick.

Passing may be the Hornets Achilles heal. "We've given up a ton of yards passing," says Nashville coach Bruce Reeder. "Harrisburg got 340 yards passing against us a couple of weeks ago and they are not known as a passing team."

"We work on (the pass) so much that we ought to be able to do it," added Reeder.

Saturday, trailing 7-0, Nashville used all their weapons as they scored 28 unanswered points to clearly defeat the Bombers of Macomb to advance to the title game .

But, success for the Hornets will depend on the Hornet line, according to Reeder. "I think the key is to not let them dominate us on the offensive and defensive line," the coach said.

"These kids have got that good winning tradition and I think that carries over into the big games," says Reeder. "Our mentality is to try to win it all."

The Skinny

The weather forecast is calling for great day. The field will be fast and the two teams will be flying. Therefore, with both teams having average special teams and equally good ground games, the outcome should come down to passing.

When it comes to passing there is none better than Delaney and Fleck, and they get plenty of help from Schrader, McKeown and Wenz. Then when you point the ball the other way, and look into the face of Kaneland's pass "D" - well it's as good as any around.

Meanwhile, Nashville's passing game isn't too shabby either. But, they do have a weakness and it's their passing defense. The Hornet's defense against the pass is more than just a bit suspect, leaving one to wonder why Kaneland would even bother to run the ball at all.

The best air show of the evening should belong to the team in black and white and silver. Plus the rollouts by Delaney is probably something the Hornets haven't seen much of before. And they will have their hands full just trying to contain him.

So, look for some passing records to be broken Friday and enjoy the rolling numbers on the scoreboard as both teams can ring it up.

Oh yea, and don't forget - the Knights play their best football on Friday nights!