One week ago, Prospect dismantled Maine West. The week prior, the Knights shellacked Niles West.

Led by standout performances from junior quarterback Jackson Cacini and senior wideout Nathan Cichy, Prospect (4-1, 1-0) rolled again Friday night at Buffalo Grove (2-3, 0-1), taking home a 56-7 victory over the Bison.

Cacini, who uncorked five scoring tosses last week, completed 14 of his 19 pass attempts for 244 yards and six more touchdowns Friday, four of those to Cichy.

A Harvard commit, Cichy finished with nine grabs for 180 yards, which included a diving touchdown snag on a dart over the middle from Cacini that delivered the knockout blow to Buffalo Grove late in the first half.

“Every day in practice I feel it,” Cichy said of his connection with Cacini. “I just know in the game it’s going to be automatic. He’s a really special player.”

The Knights’ signal-caller rained down similar praise upon his star receiver.

“He’s my guy,” Cacini said. “He’s a crazy stud athlete … That’s the guy we try to get into space, especially against teams that run cover four and drop back a lot.”

Momentum swung in Prospect’s favor from the opening kickoff when senior receiver Devin Gerdes blazed through the middle of the field for a 40-yard kick return.

Although Buffalo Grove managed a stop on the ensuing possession, a three-and-out from the Bison offense led to the first score of the game, as Knights running back Matthew Donnelly burst through a hole in the line for a 10-yard touchdown scamper. The junior finished the contest with 108 yards rushing on 10 carries, all in the first half. He added a two-point conversion.

Three consecutive turnovers forced by the Prospect defense led to Cacini’s first touchdown of the night, a 15-yard corner route on a rope to Gerdes for six. Joseph Lobue and Caden Moran snagged interceptions for the Knights. Linebacker Ryland Contreras added a pick of his own early in the second half.

Prospect found the end zone again to open the second quarter, as Cacini found Gerdes for his second touchdown of the evening. The floodgates opened from there, as the Cacini-to-Cichy connection began to take over.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Buffalo Grove coach Jeff Vlk said. “We fought hard in the beginning. They just had more horses than we do.”

Junior running back and linebacker Matthew Kaput flew around on both sides of the ball for the Bison, tallying 12 carries, a 13-yard receiving touchdown and three tackles.

Sophomore quarterback Wesley Tosch lined up under center for Prospect’s final drive and crossed the goal line for a 19-yard touchdown run to culminate the scoring.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250926/prep-football/prospect-pours-it-on-again-stymies-buffalo-grove-in-msl-east-opener/