Ever since last year's game against Crete-Monee didn't go his way, Kankakee quarterback Phillip Turner has been antsy for the rematch.
For the senior, it was well worth the wait.
Turner broke off two dazzling touchdown dashes early, getting the No. 20 Kays off and running en route to a 34-14 win Friday night in Crete.
Davion White had a 70-yard strip-and-score 66 seconds after Turner's second TD as Kankakee (6-2, 5-0 Southland) opened a 21-0 lead less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Crete-Monee (6-2, 4-1) got within a touchdown, but the Kays sealed it with late rushing scores by 280-pound defensive tackle Jyheir Sutton and Lebron Campbell.
The highlight-reel TDs, though, belonged to Turner. On the first, he zigged and zagged his way through the Warriors defense for a 28-yard score. The second was an 83-yard sprint down the left sideline.
He had 138 rushing yards at halftime and finished with 144 on nine carries.
"This game's big definitely for us and me personally, too," Turner said. "Last year I got hurt [broken finger] during this game, so I took it personal. ... I think I did what I had to do."
"I just knew Phil was going to have a big game," Kankakee coach Ed Hazelett said. "Ever since last Saturday he was on a different level. He was tuned in and locked in."
With the IHSA playoffs on the horizon, Hazelett was mindful not to push Turner more than necessary.
"He missed a game [earlier in the season] because he had an injury," Hazelett said. "He's still battling a hamstring injury. So we're just kind of working on that day by day, week by week. But he's getting better and stronger as the season goes on."
Getting White's defensive touchdown right after Turner's second score gave Kankakee the cushion it needed to withstand Crete's comeback.
Turner's reaction?
"Oh yeah, I was turnt, I was turnt," he said. "Defense giving us a touchdown ... that's great because that's points that we don't have to score."
"Our coach, he told us, 'Go for the ball,'" White said. "... So that's what I did. [The Crete ball carrier] was standing up, so I just came for the ball, ripped it out and picked it up and went to the end zone."
Crete rallied with a diverse and unconventional offense. Dominic Jackson, a 5-11, 250-pound senior who starts on the defensive line, also starts on offense, taking shotgun snaps and lining up at tailback. He rumbled for 119 yards on 18 carries and even threw an eight-yard TD pass to fellow defensive lineman Kamal Bryant on fourth down.
Amarre Carey added 88 yards on 22 carries for the Warriors, who attempted only two passes all night, Malik Hernandez had Crete's other TD on a 56-yard pick-six that caromed off a Kays receiver.
The Warriors had other chances. They turned the ball over on downs at the Kankakee three-yard line on its first possession of the night and had another turnover on a high snap when they were driving and down just 21-14 early in the fourth quarter.
"You can't win games if you turn the ball over," Crete coach John Konecki said. "... I've coached a lot of football games. Those things happen. I'm not going to excuse it away, but these are going to be wonderful learning opportunities."
