Caeden Curran and Mick Smith each ran for a pair of touchdowns and quarterback Brady Varner ran for a score and threw for another as Morris beat up Kaneland, 42-21, during Friday night’s Interstate 8 Conference game in Maple Park.

It was the sixth straight time Morris has beaten Kaneland.

“We fully expected this to potentially be for the conference championship,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “There are some really good teams left to play obviously, but when you have two undefeated (teams) and playing on the road and Kaneland is always tough to play.”

Morris (5-0, 2-0) set the tone early, forcing Kaneland (4-1, 1-1) to punt after failing to convert a first down on the game’s opening possession.

That punt ended up hitting most of one of Owen Olson’s elbows as the Morris senior blocked it.

Curran then took it in for a 41-yard touchdown on the first offensive play Morris would run.

It was that kind of night for Morris.

“We put a lot of work into special teams and we felt like we could get a block there,” Thorson said. “Owen did a great job of coming off the edge and getting that block.”

He’d gotten close in previous victories, but couldn’t have timed it better to get his first.

“I was coming off the edge super hot and made a move and put my hands up and it hit me right in the elbow,” Olson said. “I’ve gotten close, but I finally got one. It was a great moment to get it.”

Smith made it 14-0 with 6:08 left in the opening quarter with a 7-yard run.

“Caed (Curran) hooked a linebacker for me with a perfect cut, wide open lane and nobody there, so that was a good feeling,” Smith said. “We came in knowing they were going to be good, going to be tough. We came out and forced a three and out and our offense scored right away so we had momentum in our favor and took off with it.”

Varner’s 52-yard run with 9:49 left in the second quarter provided Morris with a 21-0 lead which it maintained into the third quarter.

Varner’s 60-yard touchdown catch-and-run to Logan Conroy extended the lead to 28-0 just 16 seconds into the second half. Conroy was able to elude a pair of Knights in pursuit, including Kaneland senior linebacker Jack Parker who exited on a stretcher after suffering an injury on the play.

The Knights broke the shutout with 9:54 left in the third quarter on sophomore quarterback Brody Guthrie’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Colton VanDyke.

Curran’s 3-yard touchdown run made it 35-7.

An 8-yard connection from Guthrie to VanDyke pulled the Knights to within 35-14.

Smith’s 10-yard touchdown run with 7:38 left made it 42-14.

“Keegan Kjellesvik had a good hook block,” Smith said. “I had to cut out and there was that corner so I had to beat one player and made a move and just ran into him and broke the tackle and ended up in the end zone.”

Colton Ludwig scored on a 2-yard run for the Knights with 1:53 remaining.

The Knights haven’t beaten Morris since 2018.