Kewanee’s Alex Duarte goes up against the Mendota defense. [Photo by Ellie Welgat of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program]

***William Ly is a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.

What a weekend for Kewanee High School! On top of Homecoming festivities, the Boilermakers claimed their third win of the season with a score of 49-14 over the Mendota Trojans.

The score opened up at 7:19 with a run by Alex Duarte. Tyler Johnston scored the extra point for an early 7-0 lead. 

After a couple of plays from the Trojans, junior Oswaldo Sanchez recovered a fumble for the Boilermakers.

The student section cheers on the Boilermakers. [Photo by Ra’Kiya Amos of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism]
The KHS band was joined by alumni band members for the halftime show. [Photo by Griffin Hicks of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program]

With the next possession, Duarte got his second touchdown of the night. Johnson nailed the extra point to make it 14-0 in the first six minutes of the game. 

At the beginning of the second quarter, Duarte earned his third touchdown of the night. Johnston once again scored the extra point, extending the Boilermaker lead to 21 points. 

After that play, most of the second quarter was filled with the Trojans and Boilermakers trading possessions. The Boilermaker defense showcased their grit by forcing Mendota to give up three different possessions.

With 1:34 left to go before halftime, senior Ben Taylor connected with freshman Ace LaFollette to give the Boilermakers their fourth touchdown of the night. With a kick from Johnston, the half ended 28-0 in the Boilermakers’ favor.

King Benjamin Taylor, Queen Elizabeth Pratt, senior attendants Colson Welgat, Nayeli Leon, William Ly, and Jacie Hinton, junior attendants Abram Hicks and Claire Taylor, sophomore attendants Adiel Arjon and Demaris Diaz, and freshman attendants Avery Stisser and Abbrielle Ensley lined up at the homecoming dance Saturday night. [Photo courtesy of Kewanee High School]

Halftime was filled with an exciting performance from the band. During homecoming, the band invites its alumni to perform with current students. This year’s performance featured songs from the 2017 film The Greatest Showman. 

After halftime, the Trojans looked revitalized. They got their first score of the game at 9:58 on a run by senior Braiden Freeman. Senior Angil Serrano kicked in the extra point to make the score 28-7. 

In just under three minutes, the Boilermakers fired back with another touchdown by Duarte. Johnson kicked the extra point making the score 35-7. 

Lafollette made a 55-yard touchdown later in the third quarter. Johnston kicks and the score is 42-7. 

The Boilermakers scored once more in the third quarter. Duarte scored his fifth touchdown of the night on a 96-yard run. Johnston kicked again and the score is 49-7, with only the fourth quarter left to go. 

Mendota scored once more in the fourth quarter to end the game 49-14.

This win makes the Boilermaker 3-3 on the season. With three games remaining, the Boilermakers are pushing for a playoff spot. Next week, they will face the Sherrard Tigers at Sherrard for their last conference game of the season.

Game stats:

The Boilermakers finished with 462 rushing yards. Most of the yards came from Duarte with 284 yards on 19 carries and LaFollette with 114 on 8 carries.

Taylor went six for 10 on passing for 80 yards and a touchdown pass

Touchdowns came from Duarte (five) and LaFollette (two)

The Trojans had 121 rushing yards in total. Braiden Freeman had 61 yards on seven carries

Trojan Quarterback Aiden Tillman went 18 for 31 on passing to gain 128 yards

Trojans had touchdowns coming from Braiden Freeman and Rhett Watson