Coach Sly: One senior who stayed too long

There's a lot of seniors around here who completed their football eligibility on Saturday that Coach Sly is really sorry to see go. Too many to name, too sad to ponder for long.

But I'll tell ya one senior who can't move along to college fast enough as far as Coach Sly is concerned: Montini's Jordan Westerkamp, up to his old tricks again. This yeat the Montini wideout broke Kaneland's heart with a clutch TD grab late to help the Broncos finish a rally from down 31-21 to start the fourth quarter.

It was almost one of the finest wins in Kaneland program history. Sly doesn't think that's overstating it, considering Montini's recent 5A dominance and the way the Broncos have been rolling this postseason.

What a showing by the Fighting Feddsters. Hey, it kills to lose in the semifinal round, but those Knights have to feel great about their season, including the Montini loss. Right or wrong, Kaneland might have earned more respect around the state in its one defeat than it did in its 12 Ws.

The Knights graduate another strong senior class, but tell you what, this program is gonna be King of the Hill in that conference for a long time, and with Westerkamp finally going bye-bye, maybe next year will be the Knights' time to close the deal.

It'll be mighty interesting to see how the Knights' spread, pass-heavy scheme evolves with a stud back like Balluff in the mix for two more years.

The Battlin' Bulldogs also fought valiantly but lost to a great opponent in Prairie Ridge.

On a windy day, it's advantage running team. That's not to say Batavia for-sure wins if the game is played on a different day, but it woulda been interesting to see the Dogs go full-throttle through the air for four quarters instead of two. Probably woulda been a shootout.

Like Kaneland, it's a 12-1 finish for Batavia. Sensational year, top to bottom, and a special senior class for the Bulldogs ... great mix of guys who have been getting it done for years, and some who were vastly improved as seniors.