Mustangs Trample Knights

Well, it's over! The longest football winning streak in the state ended Saturday. Kaneland's 31-game winning streak came to an abrupt end as the Evergreen Park Mustangs ran over the Knights 35-0.

But the real story isn't that the streak ended - cause that had to happen sometime. The story here is the game - the outright whippin' handed to Knights. It was like a bad dream and you had to pinch yourself to see if this was really happening.

This is the "Mighty Knights" we're talking about here - the school and team the whole state is paying attention too. The little school with corn stalks as it's neighbors. The little school that was used for corn flakes commercials. The school where you can find the entire town at on Friday nights on the fall.

But on this day the team from the city came to play and team from the corn fields didn't. And it took just 14 seconds to find that out as the Mustang's Mark Sizemore returned the opening kickoff 95-yards for a shocking 7-0 lead.

Kaneland then went four plays and punted. EP drove the 86 yards in 9 plays for another TD and a 14-0 lead just half way through the first quarter.

But the Mustangs kept attacking the Knights, knocking down passes, standing runners up at the line and just plain out hussleing the Knights. As a result a deflected Dave Issel pass was picked off and three minutes later the Mustangs had their third TD.

Then the Knights fumbled the ball (one of four times) at their own 4 and it was 28-0 before the first quarter.

Just to make sure that sinks in - It was Evergreen Park 28 and Kaneland 0 at the end of the first quarter!

And this was the football game.

The horse had left the barn.

The Knight could only come close to the end zone twice but fumbled both time. The defense tighten up a bit after the first quarter to allow only one more touchdown. But the offense just sputtered as no Knight or Knights was able to step up to bring the Kaneland back.

Kaneland's best opportunity came when it deviated from its standard offensive attack and tried a flea-flicker. The play almost worked, but Issel fumbled the ball out of the end zone inches short of the goal line after catching a pass from halfback Mike Merfeld.

Offensively and defensively, Evergreen Park (3-1) was perfect when it counted. EP's senior quarterback, Tom Marsan, completed his first seven passes. The Knights' quarterback, David Issel in turn, was 0 for his first nine, was sacked 5 times, had 4 passes blocked and 5 turnovers.

"I'm upset by the way we played. We lacked toughness and we were embarrassed, said a upset coach Joe Thorgesen.

"We got early momentum and we rode it," said EP coach Brett Nelson. "Someone was bound to have a great game and catch (Kaneland) at the right time."

Kaneland (3-1) beat Evergreen Park twice last season, but there were clearly two different teams on the field this season. Almost all of Evergreen Park's starters are experienced seniors verses Kaneland's dependence on juniors, with sophomores moving up to help fill the holes left by injuries.

Kaneland actually had a slight advantage statistically after the disastrous opening 12 minutes, but the numbers were deceptive. The Knights could not make a big play on offense, defense or the special teams.

"We need to be more hard-nosed (in future games), said Thorgesen. If we play like this, there are a lot of teams that can beat us."

"We have no problems that a win won't cure," added Thorgesen. "We have a team that can win ballgames."

The last time the Knights had this kind of game was 1995 when they lost to Morris 33-0.

Summary

If one looks at the official Kaneland stats you will notice the game may not have been as lopsided as it initially appeared.

Kaneland had more total yards than the Mustangs, 244-231. The Knights also had more first downs 10-9. They also had less penalties 4-16, for another 80 yard advantage. Both teams had an interception.

So why the difference?

First a kickoff return for 1 TD. Second Kaneland had three more fumbles - two accounting for touchdowns. And EP scored on their pick and Kaneland just didn't take advantage of their opportunities.

Whatever the case, a loss now at this time of the year can breath new life into this year's team. They have now uncoupled themselves from the teams of the past. They are now their own team with their own identity.

A butt-kicking this early in the year can be a wake-up call and bring character this team. They can say, "Hey, we're better than that", and start playing with the intensity required for winning tough football games.

They also discovered that they are not infallible. Just because they are a Kaneland Knight doesn't mean victories will be automatic. They just found out they have to work harder and be better prepared than the opponent if they are going to win.

This is a team with a pair of great lines and the talent that can take them as far they want to go. Moreover, they have a proven coaching staff who knows how to win to help guide them.

And as Eric Delaney, Kaneland quarterback of two state champions suggest, "Try your best and listen to the coaches".

So, we will now see what this team is made of.

Sophomore Game

The sophomores won 14-0. It was a game the Knights won in the second half as there was no score at half time . In the second half Brandon Sawyer scored on a 5 yard run. A little while later freshman quarterback Kevin Probst ran a sweep for 15 yards for Kaneland's second TD.

Nate Hill kicked both extra points, while Brian Booth and Angel Arroyo played strong defensive games.

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