WHEATFIELD | Maybe it just took Times No. 6 Munster a quarter to realize what was at stake Friday night at Fred Jones Field. Once the Mustangs got it going, they were unstoppable in their quest for a share of the Northwest Crossroads Conference crown.

The Mustangs used a 27-point second-quarter blitz on the way to a convincing 40-13 win over host Kankakee Valley.

With the victory the Mustangs (7-2, 5-1 NCC) earned a share of the NCC title and its first league crown of any type since 1993.

"It feels great," senior QB Josh Lukoshus said. "It was our first goal this year."

Lukoshus tossed a pair of touchdown passes, and Sean Ziemba and Taylor Kimes added TD runs as the Mustangs built a 30-7 lead.

"It was kind of hard to focus this week after the big win over Lowell," Lukoshus said. "Then we realized what we were playing for and got the win."

Simply, the Mustangs had too many weapons for the Cougars (3-6, 2-4) to contain.

Lukoshus completed 7-of-12 passes for 142 yards and the two touchdowns, while eight different ball carriers combined for 239 yards.

"Josh is very solid for us and makes good decisions," Munster coach Leroy Marsh said. "Right now, he's the leader of our football team."

Kimes led the barrage with 54 yards rushing.

"We were trying to run it a little bit more and pass when we had to," Marsh said. "It seemed to work OK ... We really don't have one star, everybody contributes."

K.V. owned the first quarter after Dylan Patrick finished an 11-play drive with a 1-yard TD run for a 7-3 lead, but Munster responded quickly to retake the lead after Ziemba ran in from 1 yard out early in the second quarter.

"It's very frustrating," K.V. coach Mike Peo said. "Every loss we've had this year is a carbon copy of one another."

PREP FOOTBALL

No. 6 Munster 40, Kankakee Valley 13

Josh Lukoshus threw for 142 yards and a pair of scores.