Kankakee’s deficit doesn’t last long in win over Bloomington

KANKAKEE – Two minutes into Saturday’s IHSA Class 6A second-round home playoff game against Bloomington, the Kankakee football team found itself in a position it hadn’t been in since August — behind on the scoreboard.

But once the No. 3 seed in the southern bracket got going, the Kays got back to their usual ways and scored 27 unanswered points for a 27-7 win over No. 6 Bloomington. The win improved their record to 10-1, and more importantly, secured a spot in next week’s quarterfinal at Richards, their third trip to at least the quarters in the past four seasons. The Purple Raiders’ season ended with an 8-3 record.

“We kept our heads down and kept going,” senior running back, receiver and defensive back James Stampley said. “We knew it was early and there was a lot of game left. We kept going, kept pushing and got the job done.”

The Kays were aggressive early, attempting to convert a 4th-and-6 at their own 43-yard line on the game’s opening drive, but as Stampley looked for an angle to the first down, he ended up being gobbled for a 14-yard loss that gave the Purple Raiders the ball just 29 yards from paydirt as they sent their offense out for their first drive.

That drive was quick, as AJ Codron found Carter Tindall three plays later for a 9-yard score that put the visitors up 7-0 with 9:45 on the first-quarter clock.

After the two teams traded punts, the Kays got their first big play of the day, Phillip Turner’s 35-yard strike to Zeke Sherrod, with Zyon Turner dashing into the endzone for a 33-yard rushing touchdown on the next play for the equalizer midway through the first.

“That got us a lot of momentum and got us going as a team,” Zyon Turner said. “When a person on the team succeeds, the whole team gets fired up and going.

“I felt like we shouldn’t have come out how we did, but we got it going on throughout the game.”

After its touchdown drive, the Purple Raiders only found the red zone once more, seeing their offense take a big hit when Codron left the game and never returned after he was sacked by Elijah Faulker that led to a turnover on downs in the final minute of the first quarter.

Prior to Seyller Green’s entrance into the game at quarterback to open the second half, the Purple Raiders went with a Wildcat formation that featured running back Rob Lanier taking snaps as the signal-caller.

But the Kays weren’t caught off guard out of the semi-tricky formation, as it was something senior linebacker and Kankakee career tackles leader Kennyan Chandler said the team noticed they had in their bag during their film studies, which allowed the Kays to hold Bloomington to just 23 yards in the second frame.

“When their quarterback went out, it was just, OK, this is the formation they’ll be in,” Chandler said. “We prepared for it, so we knew what to go in when it came.”

Stampley gave the Kays a lead by halftime with a 6-yard rushing score just under three minutes into the second quarter, and then doubled that lead when he caught an 11-yard touchdown pass that made it 21-7 after Elijah Cunningham’s PAT with 7:39 left in the third.

“I was just following the gameplan and the plays led to me,” Stampley said of his mid-game scoring heater. “On the touchdown pass, the play wasn’t meant for me. I was just doing my job to get my other receiver open, then the ball found me.”

The Purple Raiders knocked on the door of getting back in the game when Gurvir Singh recovered Phillip Turner’s fumble on a strip sack and returned it to the Kankakee 12-yard line a little over a minute into the fourth.

But as quickly as the visitors grabbed some momentum, the Kays took it all back when Keyandre White recovered a fumble and returned it 85 yards for the game’s final touchdown with nine minutes remaining.

White, who began the season in his traditional spot at safety, has moved comfortably into a key linebacker position as the season has gone on, with his effort Saturday the latest proof of his seamless transition.

“There’s more freedom,” White said of his new position. “Secondary, of course, is pass first, but linebacker, I get to spot the run out and attack. That’s what I like to do, is hit.”

Following White’s scoop-and-score, Zyon Turner returned to the field just a few plays after exiting with an apparent lower-body injury and immediately put the game on ice with an interception.

“I just have that mindset where I’m not done until I’m fully shut down,” Turner said. “I wanted to finish this game by making plays and making a statement.”

With the layout of the southern bracket in Class 6A, Saturday’s game was the last the Kays will play at home this season, as they will visit Richards next weekend and would be on the road against any potential semifinal opponents. And Chandler and the rest of the seniors were proud to end their last home game with a win.

“It feels good getting a win in my last guaranteed home game,” Chandler said. “It was good to see all my people.”

Zyon Turner paced the offense with 10 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown. Stampley had 56 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and caught four passes for 26 yards and a touchdown. Phillip Turner was 7-for-12 passing for 68 yards, a touchdown and an interception, and added five carries for 22 yards. Sherrod had a team-high 39 receiving yards on two catches.

Faulkner and Will Hill each had sacks. Zyon Turner had an interception and White recovered a fumble. White had 3.5 tackles for loss, followed by 1.5 apiece from Chandler and Michael Washington, one apiece from Camren Johnson and Jyheir Sutton and a half from Faulkner.

The Kays will visit Richards in next weekend’s quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Saturday.