High school football notes: Marengo takes control of KRC race

Marengo football coach Paul Forsythe says having Travis Knaak returning with a year of experience at quarterback has been huge for the Indians’ offensive success.

Speedy running back Finn Schirmer has also played a major role, and sophomore wide receiver Cole Davis has added another threat for the Indians, who grasped firm control of the Kishwaukee River Conference race on Friday night with a 16-14 victory at Johnsburg.

Marengo (5-2, 4-0 KRC) handed the lone conference losses to Johnsburg and Richmond-Burton and needs wins against Woodstock and Burlington Central to take the title outright.

Davis caught three passes for 30 yards and had an interception in Friday’s win. He has turned in several bigger games, but the rainy conditions were not conducive for passing.

“Cole is a great kid,” Knaak said. “We really bonded this summer. He’s fun to be around. Staying after (practice) we’ve developed a lot better. It’s been a huge help knowing we have that playmaker. He’s one of the fastest guys and one of the quicker kids on the team. He works hard at everything he does.”

It thrills Forsythe when he sees Knaak and Davis, as well as other players, staying after practice to work on more details.

“A lot of people see on Friday night, they don’t really see what’s happening behind the scenes,” Forsythe said. “Those guys stay after and throw quite a bit. They want to get it right. If it could be better, the answer isn’t to talk away after practice. ‘Let’s get things ironed out and feel good about it before we leave.’ You’re seeing it under the lights (on Fridays) for sure.”

End of a streak: Johnsburg had never lost a KRC game until Friday, the Skyhawks won the first two conference championships with perfect 6-0 records. Their KRC streak was stopped at 15 by Marengo.

Johnsburg had two leads against Marengo, the first coming in the first quarter on a Alec Smith 27-yard touchdown pass to Jonny Preston, who set up the scoring drive with an interception. After a weather delay at half, Ryan Linkletter scooped up a blocked punt near the Marengo 20-yard line and ran it in for the go-ahead score, giving the Skyhawks a 14-13 lead with 4:41 left in the third.

Marengo's Aaron Shepard kicked a 23-yard field goal in the closing moments of the third, giving the Indians the lead for good.

Johnsburg managed just 133 yards of total offense in the loss. Jacob McKinney had 57 rushing yards on 18 attempts and Smith finished 6-of-12 passing with 88 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

Johnsburg first-year coach Sam Lesniak, who was defensive coordinator for the first 12 KRC wins, expects his team to bounce back in the last two weeks with Harvard and Richmond-Burton left on the schedule.

“We never talked about a streak, really,” Lesniak said. "We just played some good football the last couple of years. We have a good team right now; we have tough kids, so I think we're going to bounce back and be OK. We're not trying to compare ourselves to any previous teams. That's been the message ever since the start this summer. We're not last year's team, or two years ago. We're this year's team, and we have our own destiny and our own goals."

Rare feats: Prairie Ridge’s 21-19 victory over Waubonsie Valley makes the Wolves 32-2 in the regular season since 2015. The only teams that have beaten the Wolves in that span are Cary-Grove in the 2015 season opener and Huntley in Week 3 this season.

Getting his yards: Prairie Ridge fullback Jackson Willis carried the ball 125 times in 14 games last year for the Class 6A state champs. He has 140 carries for 1,440 yards through seven games this season.

It is no secret for defenses that Willis will get the bulk of the Wolves’ carries, but no team has held him down yet.

“You have to look at the O-line, they’re the ones busting their butts every play to make blocks for him,” quarterback Connor Lydon said.

The linemen are George Concialdi, Ryan Pearson, Preston Polizzi, Riley Smith, Tim Maguire and tight end Carter Evans. Nick Mattran was starting, but suffered a broken bone in his left leg in Week 6 against Jacobs.

“It starts with the line. Stay low,” Smith said. “It’s mid-line (option), we have confidence in him. He’s obviously a guy we can count on. He gives 100 percent effort on every single play.”

• Alex Kantecki contributed to this report.