For the better part of four quarters on Friday night, Kaneland had DeKalb quarterback Cole Latimer running for his life.

Once the second half hit, Knight quarterback Jalen Carter and running back Carter Grabowski got to work pummeling the Barbs’ defense. By the final whistle, the duo had combined for roughly 350 yards and five touchdowns to power the Knights to a 35-7 victory in DeKalb’s home stadium.

“I was really proud of the way the defense came out and played,” head coach Mike Thorgesen said. “Our offense started kind of slow, but we really came out of the half and made some adjustments. Offense took over; defense kept holding; and, just, an overall team effort in the second half.”

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Meanwhile, DeKalb faced several injuries as Owen Sisson, Darrion Straughter and others were forced to leave the game with injuries. Barbs head coach Derek Schneeman praised his defense. Latimer finished with one passing touchdown and two interceptions while being sacked six times.

“Offensively, we’ve got to get out of our own way, making too many mistakes,” Schneeman said. “We have too many weapons on our offense to be held to seven points.”

Both teams were silent on the scoreboard for the first 14 minutes of the game before Kaneland broke off a long score on a seemingly broken play. On second-and-long from his own 30, Carter rolled out right and found his favorite target, wide receiver Brady Brown, by his lonesome. Once the two connected, Brown turned upfield and dashed down the sideline to finish off a 70-yard passing touchdown.

“I’ve got to look at the tape, but it almost seemed like it was a broken play,” Thorgesen said. “He (Carter) just scrambled, and Brady got open and then Brady’s fast — he’s deceivingly fast.”

Three plays later, DeKalb responded with a 70-yard touchdown run by Latimer, but it was quickly nullified by a holding penalty against the Barbs. That drive and the one after ended with Latimer throwing an interception to keep Kaneland ahead 7-0 at the halfway point.

After being limited on the ground in the first half, the Knights came out of halftime with a 64-yard scoring drive — 55 rushing — capped off by a 2-yard Grabowski touchdown. Carter threw his second touchdown pass of the night one drive later, finding tight end Ryan Majerus in the end zone to put the Knights up 21-0 early in the fourth quarter.

DeKalb finally broke through shortly after, as Latimer delivered a 51-yard touchdown reception to star wideout Davon Grant. The momentum quickly shifted back to Kaneland when Carter called his own number and scrambled for a 69-yard touchdown on the very next play from scrimmage.

The Knights closed out the night with one final rushing touchdown as Grabowski punched in his second score — a 5-yard run — with just over five minutes left. DeKalb went three-and-out on its final series before the visitors bled off the rest of the clock.

With the win, the Knights remain undefeated to start the season, notching their third game with 35 points or more. Carter said winning is a good feeling, but there’s more to look ahead to.

“Coach Thorgi tells us to go 1-0 every week, so this is a nice win,” Carter said. “But we’ve got to look into Ottawa — which is our next game — and go from there.”