Week 4 rewind: Sycamore, Kaneland remain undefeated as conference play starts

DeKalb, Sycamore and Kaneland all started conference play on Friday, with the Spartans and Knights getting off to undefeated starts in the Interstate 8.

The Barbs lost their inaugural game in the Southwest Valley Green, 39-6 to Lincoln-Way Central.

Here’s a look back at some of the key moments from Week 4.

Sycamore 25, Rochelle 19: At Rochelle, the Spartans opened the year 4-0 with their fourth straight game decided by a single score.

“This team just never gives up,” said Sycamore senior and Iowa recruit Burke Gautcher, who completed nine passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns while adding four tackles on defense. “The last four games have all been one-score games, but we never give up. Coach [Joe] Ryan always tells us that there are 48 minutes in a game and we play through all 48 minutes.”

Down early, the Spartans responded almost immediately, with Gautcher launching a 55-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Aidan Wyzard, who beat Hub cornerback Xavier Villalobos downfield on Sycamore’s second offensive play.

A three-and-out on Rochelle’s next drive gave the ball back to the Spartans, who extended their lead on another deep pass from Gautcher to Wyzard, who beat Hub cornerback Dylan Manning over the middle for a 79-yard touchdown.

Sycamore’s defense delivered another clutch play midway through the third quarter, where a pursuit of the Rochelle quarterback led to a strip and a fumble that Spartan linebacker Caden O’Donnell recovered. Sycamore added points off the Rochelle turnover, with Thatcher Friedrichs drilling a 30-yard field goal to give the Spartans their largest lead at 25-13.

Kaneland 49, Ottawa 20: At Ottawa, the Knights (4-0, 1-0) struck early and often.

In their first three possessions, the Pirates handed the Knights a short field and significant momentum by failing to convert on short-yardage fourth downs twice near midfield. The Knights cashed in on each possession, quickly getting out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

“I think our defense set the tone,” Kaneland coach Mike Thorgesen said. “We rotate a lot of guys (on the defensive line) and keep them fresh, and I’m happy we were able to stop the run tonight. We’re tackling well, and I’m just really pleased overall with how we’re playing defensively through these first few games.”

Junior running back/defensive back Carter Grabowski stole the show in the first half and was able to contribute on offense, defense and special teams. Grabowski had 10 carries for 68 yards and two rushing touchdowns along with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and an interception that set his team up in the red zone.

Lincoln-Way Central 39, DeKalb 6: At DeKalb, the Barbs committed five turnovers in the loss.

The Knights went up 14-0 before DeKalb (0-4, 0-1) managed an offensive possession. Behind Tyler Tulk and the ground attack, the Knights went 58 yards in seven plays, never facing a third down. Justin Cobbs went in from 15 yards.

The Barbs ended up mishandling the kickoff and the Knights recovered on the DeKalb 20. They faced a fourth down and 3 from the 13, but Tulk broke through the right side, spun, and was gone.

A blocked punt after a three-and-out set the Knights up at the DeKalb 5, a holding call backed things up to fourth and goal at the eight, but quarterback Drew Woodburn hit Kyle Miller in the end zone for a score.

Early in the second the Knights picked up their fourth touchdown on a fourth-and-17 play from the DeKalb 24, when Drew Woodburn hit Lucas Andresen for a score and a 27-0 lead.

“There were two or three times at least we had them fourth and long, and they get a scramble for a touchdown pass in the first quarter,” DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman said. “Second quarter they get a fade for a touchdown. Kid made a great throw and a great play but we have to do what we need to do. ... Right now it feels like we’re all waiting for someone else to make a play. And we need to have the confidence to go make that play.”

Dixon 40, Genoa-Kingston 7: At Genoa, the Dukes started out moving the ball on their first drive all the way down to the goal line, but Dixon quarterback Cullen Shaner was intercepted by the Cogs’ Patrick Young.

Shaner left that interception in the past and found redemption on the next two drives, throwing touchdown passes to Eli Davidson both times.

The first touchdown pass was a 19-yard strike Davidson caught as he snuck behind the middle of the Cogs’ defense to put the Dukes (4-0) on the board with 4:50 left in the first quarter. The second pass was a 7-yard dart that found Davidson streaking across the end zone to put the Dukes up 14-7 in the final minutes of the first quarter.

The Cogs (2-2) only score came between those touchdowns thanks to a family connection between quarterback Nathan Kleba and his brother, Benjamin.

South Beloit 30, Hiawatha 6: At Kirkland, Aiden Cooper had a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Gray to stake the Hawks (1-3) to a 6-0 lead in the contest. They had a chance to build the lead, but the Sobos returned an interception for a touchdown and never looked back.

“That was a dagger,” Hiawatha coach Kenny McPeek said. “We kind of had momentum and everything and the QB threw a different route than we called, and it went right to their guy and he took it in for a touchdown. Small mistakes lead to big problems.”

* Len Eisele, Bill Freskos and Russ Hodges contributed to this report. More details from all these games appear online at Friday Night Drive.