Football: Hubs carrying must-win mentality to LaSalle-Peru

Rochelle (2-2) gearing up for critical conference battle with Cavaliers (3-1)

Russell Hodges
Posted 9/18/18

The last trip to LaSalle-Peru didn’t end so well for the Rochelle varsity football team, but the Hubs are ready to exact some revenge when the two Northern Illinois Big 12 West rivals square off this Friday at 7 p.m.

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Football: Hubs carrying must-win mentality to LaSalle-Peru

Rochelle (2-2) gearing up for critical conference battle with Cavaliers (3-1)

Posted

ROCHELLE — The last trip to LaSalle-Peru didn’t end so well for the Rochelle varsity football team, but the Hubs are ready to exact some revenge when the two Northern Illinois Big 12 West rivals square off this Friday at 7 p.m.

While Rochelle had no trouble with the Cavaliers last season, winning 38-0 at home, the Hubs traveled to LaSalle-Peru in 2016 with a 5-2 record before falling 20-6 against the Cavaliers, who were 2-5 at the time. Both teams will enter Friday’s game on hot streaks, as the Hubs (2-2, 1-0 NIB-12 West) have won two straight and the Cavaliers (3-1, 1-0 NIB-12 West) are winners of three consecutive games.

“We’re only worried about us and we’re focused on doing the little things to get better every week,” head coach Kyle Kissack said. “I think both of our programs are in the same boat in that we’re sitting around the .500 mark roughly halfway through the season. It’s a very important game for us, and I’d like to think that they’re thinking the same thing.”

Rochelle kicked off conference play this past Friday with a 28-21 win over Geneseo, while LaSalle-Peru started strong by trouncing Ottawa 48-0. The Hubs, who rushed for 318 yards against the Maple Leafs, will be tasked with scoring against a Cavalier defense (led by linebacker Zach Hartman) that hasn’t given up points since beating Limestone 41-18 on Aug. 31. LaSalle-Peru cruised over United Township 35-0 prior to last Friday’s thumping of Ottawa.

“They play downhill and they rally to the football,” Kissack said. “They try to control the line of scrimmage and play a physical type of game. They have some good personnel, they’re physical and they can run… We need to be more physical at the point of attack and we need to finish drives, both offensively and defensively.”

Defensively, the Hubs will plan to slow down a LaSalle-Peru offense that has scored an average of 41.3 points per game over its last three games, all victories. Quarterback Jakob Kupperschmid will take the snaps for the Cavaliers, and standout skill players including wide receiver Devon Poggi and running back Nick Krolak. LaSalle-Peru is coached by Jose Medina.

“I think they have some good personnel,” Kissack said. “Their quarterback does a good job of running their mid-line and triple offense. I’m fairly impressed with his play, and they have some big kids up front. They do a nice job of executing the scheme they want to run.”

Kissack credited the Rochelle linemen for winning the battle in the trenches against Geneseo, and Kissack will be looking for more of the same at LaSalle-Peru this weekend. Playing with more urgency, the Hubs will take the field in a game where playoff ramifications could be high for whoever wins and losses.

“Traditionally, we pride ourselves on being physical,” Kissack said. “Our kids have grown up in the system and they understand the expectations of offensive line play. They executed really well last week, and we were overly physical at the point of attack.”