Week 7 rewind: Sycamore moves to 7-0 while DeKalb moves some pieces around

Sycamore not only moved to 7-0 last week but also picked up the 200th victory of coach Joe Ryan’s career.

DeKalb moved wide receiver Davon Grant, putting him alongside quarterback Mikey Hodge and running back Mariyan Dudley, into the backfield out of the shotgun. His stint at running back netted him almost 50 rushing yards plus 112 receiving yards.

Here’s a look back at all the moves from Week 7.

Sycamore 28, La Salle-Peru 13: The Spartans had to capitalize on limited offensive opportunities and play stout defense to get Ryan his 200th victory.

Sycamore had just two offensive possessions in the first half but scored on both.

“We took advantage of the opportunities we had in the way we wanted to,” Ryan said. “We have a lot of speed and that’s what helps. We can take the top off a little bit and we hit some big plays.”

After L-P took 4:15 off the clock on its opening drive, the Spartans took over on the L-P 15 and needed five plays to score when Gautcher connected with Kyle Prebil for a 56-yard scoring strike.

The Cavs took another 5:02 off the clock on their second drive, which ended in a punt attempt, but a low snap gave the Spartans the ball on their own 49, which led to Gautcher scoring on a 1-yard sneak.

“We knew they were going to hold onto the ball a lot, but our defense locked it down and we just stayed true and got it done,” said Gautcher, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for two. “With the type of receivers we have, we just took advantage of those guys. They run the right routes. We had good blocking and got things done.”

Waubonsie Valley 28, DeKalb 19: In the third quarter, the Barbs scored to pull within one, with Hodge - playing in place of injured QB Cole Latimer - finding Grant for a 33-yard gain followed by another 20-yard Hodge-to-Grant connection.

Billy Miller wrapped up the drive with a 20-yard catch from Hodge, but the extra point failed, making the score 14-13.

Hodge finished 19 of 26 with two touchdowns and a late interception after the Barbs were down two scores. With Latimer week-to-week (he played last week but missed time earlier in the season), coach Derek Schneeman said he played extremely well.

The Barbs added a new wrinkle in the second half, lining up Grant at running back. He was on one side of Hodge in the shotgun with Dudley on the other. He ended up with 45 yards on five carries, plus had 112 yards on eight catches after only managing two catches for 17 yards in the first half.

Schneeman said the Barbs had to get the ball in his hands more. And while he was skeptical of the move at first, Grant said it’s growing on him after some game action.

“When they talked about it at practice, I was not fond of it at all,” Grant said. “I’m like a receiver, just get me the ball through the air and all that. But I dealt with it, and it proved beneficial a lot throughout the second half.”

Hiawatha 62, Ashton-Franklin Center 20: A big part of the win was Braeden Ross, who coach Kenny McPeek said hadn’t played a full game all year. He did Friday, recording three of Hiawatha’s seven sacks.

“He had a concussion early on and then some rib problems,” McPeek said. “This was his first game back playing the whole time. It was nice to see him do that, and it being senior night made it extra nice.”

Tim Pruitt had four touchdowns for the Hawks (2-5), rushing for 126 yards and three scores and returning a kick 72 yards for a touchdown. Tommy Butler added two touchdowns on the ground, 68 rushing yards and 14 tackles on the defensive side.

The Hawks kept their slim chance of an eight-man playoff berth alive.

“We can make it in at 4-5 and if we play as good as we did tonight there’s a chance,” McPeek said. “It’s a long shot, but there’s a chance.”

Stillman Valley 22, Genoa-Kingston 20 (OT): The Cogs struggled on offense up until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. In the final minutes, Genoa-Kingston was able to score and tie the game at 14. Quarterback Nathan Kleba found Hayden Hodgson for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 55 seconds left.

Genoa-Kingston coach Cam Davekos attributed this to the seniors really stepping up and recognizing how the defense began to loosen up.

This resulted in overtime, in which the Cogs were able to go up 20-14 but failed to make the point after touchdown. Stillman Valley secured the lead after scoring a touchdown at third-and-goal and making the 2-point conversion.

Rochelle 52, Kaneland 24: Quarterback Chase Kruckenberg was a bright spot for the Knights, completing 20 of 30 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the second half. But Kaneland found itself in a deep hole early as Rochelle scored five first-half touchdowns to surge ahead.

Still seeking its fifth win to clinch an at-large playoff berth, Kaneland (4-3, 1-3 Interstate 8) will look to bounce back against La Salle-Peru next Friday.

“We have to keep fighting,” Kaneland head coach Mike Thorgesen said. “We’ve played three top-10 teams over the last three weeks. We have to get off the turf and keep playing ball. I thought our offense did good, but we’re banged up right now and we’re not at full health. We had three sophomores playing on defense tonight, and that makes it tough to have success against a really good team like Rochelle. We have to bounce back and play our best ball.”

• Kevin Chlum, Russ Hodges and Jordan Birchfield contributed to this report. Full versions of these stories are available on FridayNightDrive.com