Football: Marion escapes Rochelle with last-second touchdown

Wildcats score with 3.5 seconds remaining to beat Hubs 43-40

Russell Hodges
Posted 8/24/18

Leading 40-36 with less than 10 seconds remaining in their varsity football game against the Marion Wildcats on Saturday, the Rochelle Hubs took the field on defense looking for one final stop.

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Football: Marion escapes Rochelle with last-second touchdown

Wildcats score with 3.5 seconds remaining to beat Hubs 43-40

Posted

MARION — Leading 40-36 with less than 10 seconds remaining in their varsity football game against the Marion Wildcats on Saturday, the Rochelle Hubs took the field on defense looking for one final stop.

Marion quarterback Boston Ziegler took the ball from the Rochelle 11-yard line, and with the game clock winding down, Ziegler fired a high pass over the middle for wide receiver Dylan Kinell. Leaping over the outstretched arms of Rochelle safety Ethan Etes, Kinell snatched the pass and scored the game-winning touchdown with 3.5 seconds remaining for the Wildcats, who escaped with a 43-40 victory over the Hubs.

“We had an idea of what they were going to run on that final offensive set,” head coach Kyle Kissack said. “It was a great throw and a great catch. We were in a position to make a play, but we have to credit Marion for making a very great play at the end of the game.”

Rochelle (0-1) sprung out of the gate on Saturday, with senior Noah Knight returning the opening Marion kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to give the Hubs an early lead. After forcing the Wildcats to punt on their first drive, Rochelle marched 80 yards down the field, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run by Knight to lead Marion 14-0 with 2:32 to play in the first quarter.

“It was important that we started fast,” Kissack said. “We wanted the ball to start the game and we wanted to control the tempo of the game. Scoring right off the bat and getting a stop defensively was how we envisioned the start of the game going.”

The Wildcats scored their first touchdown early in the second quarter on an 11-yard pass from Ziegler to Kinell, who led Marion with 10 catches for 86 yards and two scores in the game. The Hubs were quick to respond, however, as senior Brandon Johnson ran 74 yards for a touchdown on Rochelle’s first play of the drive to give the Hubs a 21-7 advantage.

The rest of the afternoon turned into a score-for-score shootout between the two playoff qualifiers from 2017. Marion running back Drake Gravatt rushed for a 6-yard touchdown, and after the Wildcats stopped the Hubs on fourth-and-5 at their own 33-yard line, Marion scored again to tie the game at 21-21 on a 2-yard rush by Ziegler. The teams remained tied at halftime.

“I think we’re working to find ways to keep our guys fresh and on the field,” Kissack said. “That will be something we need to work through as the season goes on. Defensively, there was a moment in the second quarter where we just didn’t finish well. That short period of time, we allowed them to gain momentum.”

Marion took the ball and scored first to earn its first lead of the game in the third quarter when Josh Schmid rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 7:00 to play in the quarter. The Hubs bounced back with a 56-yard scoring drive capped off by Johnson’s 10-yard rushing score. Trailng 28-27 after a missed extra point, Rochelle jumped back on top after senior Eddie Villalobos scored on a 25-yard rush.

“We have a very solid offensive group,” Kissack said. “Our kids up front are very physical and intelligent. They allow us to be versatile offensively. We got into a bunch of different offensive sets on Saturday, but we were able to be successful simply running our base stuff.”

Noah Mofield’s 13-yard rushing touchdown put Marion back on top 35-33 with 7:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rochelle answered with a 1-yard rushing score by Johnson, who finished with 144 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the game. The Hubs led 40-36 with 1:05 to play before Marion charged 70 yards down field to score the game’s final touchdown.

Rochelle ended the game with 357 rushing yards, with 116 coming from Villalobos and 76 from Knight. The Hubs averaged 8.1 yards per carry, and senior quarterback Andrew Johnson was a perfect 3-for-3 for 28 yards through the air.

But Rochelle surrendered 417 yards of total offense to Marion, and the Hubs will look to regroup for their home-opener against Johnsburg on Friday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Senior linebacker Larry Beck led the Hubs with eight tackles on Saturday.

“I want us to finish and be more physical at the point of attack,” Kissack said.

The Rochelle freshman-sophomore football team defeated Aurora Central Catholic on Friday by a score of 26-12 to improve to 1-0 on the season. Crue Larsen scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown, while Ethan Wells caught one touchdown pass from quarterback Grant Thompson. Owen Angell (65-yard touchdown) and Cam Ajazi (15-yard touchdown) also scored for the Hubs.