Spartans criss-cross past Kaneland

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Sycamore running back Marckie Hayes (1, center) and quarterback Trevor Mathey (12, left) react after defeating Kaneland in the class 5A playoff game at Kaneland High School in Maple Park on Saturday. (Beck Diefenbach - bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com)

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MAPLE PARK – The play is called the counter criss-cross.

Sycamore quarterback Trevor Mathey hands the ball to Marckie Hayes, who then hands the ball to fullback Joe Dougherty, who is headed in the opposite direction.

The Kaneland defense naturally followed Hayes – who entered the game with nearly 1,400 rushing yards this season – while Dougherty ran away with the ball and the game before the Knights knew what hit them in the Spartans' emphatic 40-13 first-round playoff win Saturday night.

Dougherty ran for 210 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs, on just 18 carries and the Spartans doused head coach Joe Ryan with the Gatorade bucket as Sycamore (7-3) won its first playoff football game since 1985.

"I just had the game of my career," Dougherty said. "I've never had three touchdowns before. For it to happen at the biggest time in the playoffs feels good.

"They key on Marckie and they stop him sometimes so it's good to have someone else to go to. It makes it hard for the defense."

Hayes gained plenty of yards himself. He ran for 175 yards on 22 carries and a pair of touchdowns of his own with the eyes of the Kaneland (6-4) defense on him.

Four of those rushing touchdowns came in the first half. Add in a 13-yard C.J. Compher touchdown pass from Mathey on the Spartans' final offensive play of the first half and Sycamore had jumped out to a 33-7 halftime lead that the Knights would never recover from.

"That touchdown before the half was huge," Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said.

Equally impressive was the effort from the Spartans defense, which put in a new coverage plan during Thursday's practice and kept Kaneland from getting anything big after Taylor Andrew's 43-yard first quarter touchdown catch from Joe Camiliere. Camiliere's next scoring play was a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ryley Bailey on the final play of the game.

Sycamore kept the Knights' receivers in front of them, pressured Camiliere from the outside with a sack apiece from Harlan Johnson and Sam McRickard, and made quick tackles when the Knights did complete the ball.

Camiliere finished 15-for-32 for 141 yards and two touchdown, but it wasn't enough as the Knights ran for just 86 yards

"I want to give them a lot of credit," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said. "They came out and really played a good ballgame. Marckie Hayes is just an unbelievable player and they beat us in all facets of the game."

For his part, Mathey completed his only pass of the game and ensured he will remain the Spartans' starting quarterback even when sophomore Ryan Bartels returns from suspension for next Saturday's second round game against Wheaton Academy at Sycamore.

The Spartans can only hope they can come out with a complete-team domination like they showed Saturday night again. Because the improvement they have shown since falling to Kaneland 21-14 in Week 4 has the Spartans thinking big.

"We simplified our defense so we could get pressure on the quarterback while still covering the receivers," Hayes said. "And our running game has improved significantly since the last time we played those guys. Put those things together and you get a 40-13 score."

Sycamore 40, Kaneland 13

Sycamore 14 19 0 7 – 40
Kaneland 7 0 0 6 – 13

First quarter
Syc – Hayes 9 run (Kroeger kick), 6:34
Kane – Andrews 43 pass from Camiliere (Swieca kick), 5:38
Syc – Hayes 9 run (Kroeger kick), 1:08

Second quarter
Syc – Dougherty 51 run (Kick failed), 5:28
Syc – Dougherty 29 run (Kroeger kick), 1:54
Syc – Compher 13 pass from Mathey (Kick failed), :08

Fourth quarter
Syc – Dougherty 5 run (Kroeger kick), 10:16
Kane – Bailey 9 pass from Camiliere (No XP attempted), :00

Rushing – Sycamore: Dougherty 18-210, Hayes 22-175, Greer 6-22, Mathey 4-11, Patitu 1-(-2). Totals: 51-416. Kaneland: Serpa 13-54, Camiliere 6-27, Andrews 1-3, Bailey 1-2. Totals: 21-86.
Passing – Sycamore: Mathey 1-1-0-13. Kaneland: Camiliere 15-32-0-141.
Receiving – Sycamore: Compher 1-13. Kaneland: Andrews 3-63, Callaghan 4-37, Bailey 4-23, Tattoni 1-8, Buschbacher 1-2, Serpa 2-(-1).
 

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