Kaneland 31, Batavia 28

Hitting 500 home runs has been a magic number of enthronement into the baseball Hall of Fame.

In Kaneland, the number 500, as in 500 total yards, seems to be the number that guarantees a Knights victory over Batavia.

On Friday night in Maple Park, the Knights accumulated 535 yards in total offense and edged the comeback-hungry Bulldogs 31-28 in a Western Sun Conference contest.

It was the fourth straight year Kaneland beat Batavia and the third consecutive year they totaled over 500 yards of offense.

The Knights had 521 yards in their 35-28 victory in 2005 and 516 in last year's 24-14 win.

With the score tied at 28, Kaneland took control of the ball with 5:05 remaining. After 9 plays, the Knights had a decision to make. They could try to convert a 4th down and 4 or attempt a 29-yard field goal. After considering their options, the Knights elected to kick a field goal and Jody Henningson's kick was perfect.

"I've hit a couple but nothing like that," Henningson said. "Nothing this big that was down to the wire like that."

Batavia had one final chance but Blake Kendrick's interception in the final minute preserved the victory.

After losing three straight away from home, Kaneland found Maple Park to be accommodating as the Knights jumped on the Bulldogs with three straight scores to take a 21-0 lead.

"I felt our kids were ready to play," Batavia coach Mike Gaspari said. "We failed to execute on our first possession, then turned it over and that hurt us and we got in that hole early."

On the Knights second possession of the game, Henningson (24-of-50, 393 yards passing) connected with Jamie Snyder for a 68-yard touchdown.

After missing a field goal on its next possession, Kaneland's Robert Shollenberger stripped Batavia quarterback Jordan Coffey (17-of-37, 305 yards passing) and Sam Payne recovered. Two plays later and Henningson connected again with Snyder, this time for an 18-yard touchdown.

Snyder wasn't done though, and neither was Henningson as the two made it 21-0 on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 8:31 remaining in the first half.

"The whole night we were moving the ball," Henningson said. "All we had to do was settle down and move the ball and that's what we did."

Batavia (2-3, 1-2) suddenly found itself in a similar predicament as it was in last week when it fell behind Rochelle 24-0. The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard when Ian Wallis made a fantastic diving catch in the end zone to haul in a 19-yard pass from Coffey.

That seemed to awaken the Bulldogs who scored on their next possession when Coffey's short pass to Jordan Church turned into a 48-yard

touchdown as the 6-foot-3, 240-pound tight end broke three tackles.

The momentum didn't change sides though as Kaneland fired right back with Henningson throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the night, hitting Brian Claesson for a 3-yard touchdown with 58 seconds remaining in the first half.

In the second half, a 68-yard touchdown reception by Eric Zeddies and a 31-yard touchdown run by Brian Krolikowski allowed the Bulldogs to tie the score at 28 before Henningson's kick sealed the game.

Korey Maple's (10 catches, 150 yards) return from injury proved to be huge for the Knights as he came up with numerous first down catches to extend drives.

"It felt great to be back," he said. "This was huge because playing Batavia is big and we knew we had to win to get a streak going."