MAPLE PARK — Senior lineman James Hart had an important message for his teammates before taking the field for Rochelle’s varsity football game against Kaneland on Friday.

The Hubs entered their season finale against the Knights needing one more victory to qualify for the postseason. Hart’s pregame speech was taken well by his teammates, as Rochelle rushed for over 400 yards while dominating the time of possession to upset Kaneland 31-13 and finish the season 5-4 overall.

It was the first victory over the Knights since 2007 for the Hubs, who snapped their streak of nine consecutive losses against Kaneland to reach the postseason for the third straight year. Rochelle will await its first-round playoff matchup, which will be announced this weekend. 

“I told these guys that I love them no matter what,” Hart said. “I told them that we weren’t done. We wanted to play another week and we got one. We were getting off the football and that’s what Rochelle football is all about. We were being physical and we were pounding the ground.”

Rochelle received the ball to start the game before taking over six minutes off the clock and completing its 10-play, 85-yard drive with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by senior Eddie Villalobos, who rushed for 176 yards and three scores in the win.

Kaneland tied the game 6-6 on Jonathan Alstott’s 1-yard rush early in the second quarter, but the Hubs countered when Villalobos reached the end zone from 7 yards out and senior Noah Knight, who recorded 110 rushing yards, ran for the 2-point conversion. Rochelle led 14-6 with 8:15 to play in the quarter.

“It feels amazing,” Villalobos said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling since Kaneland isn’t an easy team to beat and we knew they were going to make us work for it. Coach [Kyle Kissack] told us to try and get 4 yards at a time and that’s what we expected to do. We expected to run hard, and we knew that big plays would happen if we kept running hard.”

The Rochelle defense forced two Kaneland punts and one turnover on downs in the first half to stymie an offense that scored 50 points against Morris last week. The Hubs extended their lead to 17-6 at halftime when Villalobos kicked a 19-yard field goal to complete a 15-play, 57-yard drive that took over seven minutes of time off the clock.

The Knights utilized their rushing attack well to start the third quarter, with quarterback Joe Smith keeping the ball for a 6-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 17-13 game. Both teams punted on their next possessions, and with the ball at their own 7-yard line, the Hubs leaned on senior Brandon Johnson early in the fourth quarter to carry the load.

Johnson was more than happy to deliver the goods, taking the ball on six of Rochelle’s plays and capping off an 11-play, 93-yard scoring drive with a 48-yard touchdown rush down the left sideline. Johnson had 122 rushing yards in the win.

“We were all ready to play and we were prepared really well,” Johnson said. “We knew this was our last chance to get into the playoffs and we played our butts off. It felt like Rochelle football the way we were able to pound the ball up the middle behind the big boys on the line over and over again.”

Leading 24-13 late in the fourth quarter, the Hubs gave up a couple of big plays to Kaneland before forcing another turnover on downs when junior Keegan Davis-Carter broke up Smith’s pass toward the right side of the Rochelle end zone. With time winding down, Villalobos broke a tackle carrying the ball off the left side and exploded for an emotional 75-yard touchdown scamper as he pointed toward the sky in honor of his late cousin Xavier Adam Villarreal, who passed away in 2006.

“I go to my cousin Xavier’s grave every day,” Villalobos said. “Before our games and often before I leave… He passed away and I do it for him.”

The Rochelle sophomore football team finished its season 7-2 overall with a 26-7 win over Kaneland on Friday. Ben Harvey totaled 107 rushing yards and one touchdown while Owen Angell added 86 rushing yards and two touchdowns plus one interception on defense. Cam Ajazi recorded 76 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Grant Thompson had one interception and Treyton Buh totaled eight tackles.