Week 9 rewind: DeKalb closes season with first win; Sycamore wraps up 9-0

DeKalb had an offensive explosion in its final game of the year, cruising past Stagg for its first win.

Sycamore had an offensive explosion in its regular-season finale, rolling over Cahokia for its ninth win.

And Genoa-Kingston had a defensive showcase, keeping Rockford Lutheran off the board for the final 2½ quarters to pick up its fifth win and end up in the Class 3A playoff field.

Here’s a look at the key moments of Week 9′s prep football games in the Daily Chronicle area:

DeKalb 41, Stagg 0: At DeKalb, after a fruitless opening drive, DeKalb scored touchdowns on each of its next three possessions. The Barbs got on the scoreboard with a long scoring connection with 8:33 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Mikey Hodge found Davon Grant in open space – and Grant took care of the rest for the 64-yard touchdown.

“[It was] just straight green grass,” Grant said. “There was a couple of people in my way, but [I was] able to make a couple of moves.”

Hodge added a 28-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Jack Rosenow and a 68-yarder to Grant to put the Barbs up 21-0 with 3:16 left in the first quarter. The QB then threw interceptions during each of the next four drives, keeping DeKalb at a 21-0 lead at halftime.

Senior running back Mariyan Dudley put an exclamation point on the victory with rushing touchdowns of 80 and 42 yards in the second half – with Grant catching his third TD in between them. On Dudley’s second scoring run, he fumbled near the goal line before landing on the ball in the end zone.

“I’m just happy to see the kids win,” DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman said. “It’s been a tough season for a lot of reasons. But ultimately, it was a really enjoyable group to coach. … They really deserve this one tonight.”

Sycamore 52, Cahokia 14: Aidan Wyzard had a 39-yard reception on the game’s opening drive, the biggest gain in a 75-yard scoring drive capped by a 1-yard run by Burke Gautcher for an 8-0 lead.

After a four-and-out by the Comanches (8-1), the Spartans added a 44-yard field goal by Thatcher Friedrichs on the first play of the second quarter for an 11-0 lead.

Then the big plays really kicked in.

On the second play after another defensive stop – Cahokia hadn’t scored fewer than 26 points in a game this year but couldn’t get on the board until trailing 31-0 in the third – Gautcher launched a long pass to Wyzard, who sped past the defender and caught it in stride for a 49-yard score.

The duo connected for a 27-yard deep route on the next drive and a 25-0 lead late in the first half.

In the third quarter, Wyzard also had a 26-yard punt return, aided by a 15-yard penalty on the Comanches that set the Spartans up at the Cahokia 6. Kevin Lee ran in one of his two touchdowns for a 38-8 lead.

Sycamore will host Chicago Noble/Bulls at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

Genoa-Kingston 29, Rockford Lutheran 14: At Rockford, the Cogs kept the Crusaders off the board for the final 30:13 to secure a playoff berth.

“It feels great,” coach Cam Davekos said. “I’m just so proud of the kids. They really believed in each other and stepped up, played hard, played assignment-sound football. I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Peyton Meyer hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Kleba to put the Cogs (5-4, 4-4) ahead 14-7, but the Crusaders (6-3, 6-3) returned the kickoff for a touchdown to tie the score again with 6:13 left in the second quarter.

Genoa-Kingston will head to Durand-Pecatonica for the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Milledgeville 58, Hiawatha 28: At Kirkland, the Hawks’ season ended with a 2-7 record.

Hiawatha’s Tim Pruitt had an early interception return for a touchdown to tie the score at 6, although the Missiles went up 52-6 at the half. Pruitt also had a 45-yard touchdown run.

Colby Wylde had two interceptions despite a broken hand and added three catches for 60 yards. Tommy Butler had 127 rushing yards, two touchdowns and 14 tackles.

“The year was trying at times, but we have a lot of young kids that will build on what we learned,” coach Kenny McPeek said. “We only lose three starters, so that’s a good, solid nucleus. We had 29 players out this year and only lose five seniors.

“The future looks pretty good.”

Althoff 14, Kaneland 10: At Belleville, unbeaten Althoff scored a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and held on to beat Kaneland in the teams’ nonconference regular-season finale Saturday.

Kaneland (5-4) led 10-7 at halftime and into the fourth quarter. Sam Bruno kicked a field goal for the Knights in the first quarter. Chase Kruckenberg threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Carter Grabowski in the second.

“I thought our kids came to play,” Kaneland coach Mike Thorgesen said. “It was a road game, we were five hours in a bus, and I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance. Belleville is a pretty darn good team regardless of class. I thought our kids fought and put themselves in a position to win. We just came up a little bit short.”

Kaneland will head to Belvidere North for the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

• More information on these games can be found at FridayNightDrive.com. Skyler Kisellus and Josh Welge contributed to this report.