PECATONICA — Kyle Nolen’s 40-yard run opened the scoring and Pecatonica then got its passing game going in the second quarter to roll over Forreston 40-21 Friday.

The Indians led 27-0 at the half. Nolen dodged and darted around the left end before sprinting into the end zone at the 3:55 mark in the opening period, then kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Dakota Longenecker pumped a 35-yard pass to Jessie Carter to set up a 1-yard Longenecker run to make it 13-0. Three minutes later, Nolen scored again on a 4-yard run through the middle of the Forreston line, for a 19-0 lead. Less than three minutes after that, with 2:32 on the clock, an arching 4-yard pass to Brock Day, and an ensuing two-point conversion, put Pecatonica up 27-0.

Day’s catch was the second impressive pass of the drive from Longenecker, who tossed a 40-yard strike to the senior receiver to set up the score.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Pecatonica (3-4), which was 2-7 the previous two years since rejoining the NUIC.

“This is a huge step forward for us,” Pec coach Brett Frederick said. “We’ve been trying to make strides in this conference. When we played three state-ranked opponents in a row, things were looking bleak, but the kids held their heads up. To take a team like Forreston and play so well against them was really a boost for our kids.”

Longenecker added an 11-yard TD pass to Kyle Kerr in the fourth quarter and Mike Hoeft scored on a 1-yard run to finish off Forreston (4-3).

- Gatehouse News Service