Football Preview: Kankakee Kays vs. Bloomington Purple Raiders
Two dominant backs in James Stampley and Rob Lanier are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Kankakee Kays will take on the Bloomington Purple Raiders at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Kankakee is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last nine games.
Kankakee is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Saturday. Their defense stepped up to hand Glenbard South a 42-0 shutout. Given the Kays' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 21st, while the Raiders are ranked 194th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
It was another big night for Stampley, who rushed for 180 yards and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Kankakee was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 410 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Kankakee didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Ezekiel Sherrod Jr.. Another thorn in Glenbard South's side was Elijah Faulkner, who picked up two sacks and made four total tackles.
Meanwhile, Bloomington earned a 31-20 victory over Lemont on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Purple Raiders.
Lanier was his usual excellent self, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown. He showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 69 yards.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Bloomington's defense and their three sacks. Justin Robinson was especially locked on to Lemont's QB and sacked him twice.
Kankakee's win was their 14th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-1. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 45.4 points per game. As for Bloomington, their victory bumped their record up to 8-2.
Kankakee came up short against Bloomington in their previous matchup back in September of 2017, falling 22-16. Will Kankakee have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other football content.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
