Kane County Notes: Burlington Central gets historic win over Prairie Ridge

Week 7 of the 2024 football season was a great week for Burlington Central. And in more ways than one.

The Rockets’ 52-21 victory over Prairie Ridge was not only their first win over the Wolves, securing a victory over each team currently in the Fox Valley Conference, but it also helped them secure their first winning season since 2017, and more than likely their first postseason berth since 2014.

Not only that, but the performances on the field were just as historic as well. Quarterback Jackson Alcorn’s 469 passing yards and seven touchdowns (six passing, one rushing) led the way to 52 points for the Rockets, which is the most points they’ve put up in a game since a 55-16 victory over Woodstock North in 2017.

Of the seven receivers Alcorn threw to in the night, his favorite target was wide out Rocco Boss, who had seven catches for 207 yards and two scores in the game. The performance on the night from the QB led to coach Brian Iossi calling Alcorn the best quarterback in the state of Illinois that no one knows about.

“It comes to just trust, honestly,” Alcorn said. “[Coach Iossi] and I talked before the game about how we’re going to do the stuff that we know how to do, but we’re going to go into that empty package and air it out if we need to. After that we just kept rolling with it and rolling with it. They didn’t make any adjustments, and we just kept stomping on them honestly.”

The win almost certainly secures the Rockets spot in the playoffs, which is a spot Central hasn’t reached since 2014. With a game against Hampshire (1-6) on Friday in the first senior night matchup between the two rivals at Rocket Hill since 1966, and a matchup against Huntley (4-3), who handed them a loss to end the 2023 season and end their playoff hopes, the Rockets will be vying for a shot to host a playoff game in Week 10.

Geneva retains undefeated season with one last defensive stand

Heading into Week 8 of the football season, only 39 teams have managed to keep out of the loss column.

And if it wasn’t for some key plays on Geneva’s defense in the final minute, that number could have easily been 38.

After allowing Wheaton North to work their way down to the 13-yard line with just 41 seconds remaining, Geneva didn’t allow another inch, forcing a delay of game before Sean Lane and Troy Velez got a crucial sack, which forced the Falcons all the way back to the 31-yard line before spiking the ball to stop the clock, and ultimately giving them a fourth-down situation.

“Coach sent me in on a blitz and I told him I needed to get it done,” Velez said. “So I did it and I got it done.”

After that, all they needed was one final stop, which wide receiver Talyn Taylor stepped in to do on the final play. On one final heave into the end zone, the Georgia commit knocked the ball out of the air to secure the win.

“It was just a sequence. We practice the two-minute drill every week with our against our offense and our defense is ready for it,” Vikings coach Boone Thorgesen said. “But when it’s a stressful moment and an intense moment like that, and you’ve got a lot going on, you kind of got to fall back to your coaching and what you preach all summer in those situations. I thought our kids handled it extremely well, and it’s going to make us better in the end.”

The win matches their best record to start a season since 2015, when they went 9-2. A win against St. Charles East on Friday would give the Vikings would get them one step closer to their first undefeated regular season since 2008, where they went on to lose in the Class 7A championship game against East St. Louis.

Batavia bounces back from rivalry week loss with big win

It’s safe to say that Batavia may have had to release some feelings out on the field Friday night.

After suffering their first loss to Geneva in 13 seasons back in Week 6, the Bulldogs knew that the league wasn’t going to let them rest, and they needed to get things rolling, and quickly.

And unfortunately for St. Charles East, they had to be on the receiving end of the blow.

The Bulldogs ended up putting 56 points on the board while only allowing 130 yards of offense in a 56-7 victory over the Saints.

Unlike the first six games, the Bulldogs relied on spreading the ball out on offense, with six players recording over 10 rushing yards, including three with over 50, as well as five receivers finishing with at least one reception.

Besides their loss to Geneva in Week 6, Batavia has scored at least 40 points in each of their wins in conference play, and now have the highest-scoring offense against conference opponents, with their 205 points just beating out the Vikings (204).

The defense also got back to its normal ways, picking up 13 tackles for loss in the contest, marking the fifth time the Bulldogs have had over 10 TFLs in a game this season.

The win also secures a spot in the playoffs for the Bulldogs, marking the 14th straight season of them making the big dance and 13th straight under Dennis Piron.

St. Charles North secures third straight trip to playoffs

While Batavia and Geneva have been the main teams of focus throughout the DuKane conference this season, St. Charles North has also emerged as a top threat in the conference with the season coming to a head.

After their come-from-behind loss to Batavia in Week 4, the North Stars have rattled off three straight victories over Wheaton Warrenville South, St. Charles East and most recently Glenbard North with a 34-14 victory to move to 6-1 on the season and secures a trip to the playoffs for the third straight season.

Part of the success the North Stars have been having is from the stellar play of quarterback Ethan Plumb. In his last three games, the four-year starter has averaged 278 yards through the air while also scoring 12 total touchdowns (10 passing, 2 rushing). He’s also been finding wide receiver Keaton Reinke consistently in those games, as the two have connected 26 times for 397 yards and five scores.

Getting to the six-win threshold also marks the eighth time that the North Stars have made it to the playoffs under head coach Rob Pomazak, who took North to the playoffs for five straight seasons (2014-18), and even a trip to the Class 7A championship game in 2018.