Kaneland faces Belvidere North in Round 1 of the 2024 Class 6A IHSA football playoffs Friday Night Drive editor Eddie Carifio will have live updates, scores and news from the game.
What to know
Kaneland vs. Belvidere North kickoff: 7 p.m. Friday
Where: Belvidere North High School
Kaneland-Belvidere North preview
About the Knights: The Knights started the season 4-0, including a pair of wins against teams that are 7-2 – Wauconda and Washington. But they’ve lost four of five, including to conference foes Rochelle, Sycamore and Morris by an average of 32 points. They lost 14-10 to Belleville Althoff, the No. 1 team in Class 1A, in Week 9. Three of the four teams they’ve lost to this year are at least 8-1. Carter Grabowski and Brady Alstott lead the team in tackles with 61 each. Grabowski had a pair of interactions and Alstott has one. Rogan O’Neil and Jake Buckley each have 10 tackles for loss. Grabowski leads the team with 613 rushing yards. Chase Kruckenberg has thrown for 1,365 yards and 14 touchdowns while being intercepted four times. The teams met in the first round of the 2015 playoffs in the Knights’ first year in 6A. Kaneland won 33-31.
About the Blue Thunder: The Blue Thunder’s only loss came to Hononegah 22-19 in Week 8, allowing the two teams to split the NIC-10 title. They held off third-place Harlem in Week 9 34-20. They feature a balanced ground game with four players at 400 or more rushing yards, with Ben Bucher (37-587-8) and Erick Roman (52-578-5) leading the way. The winner will face either No. 12 Fenton (6-3) or No. 5 Wauconda (7-2) in the second round.
Friday Night Drive pick: Kaneland