ROCHELLE — The Hubs varsity football team began the next step in its offseason process on Monday, when players strapped on their shoulder pads and returned to the Rochelle Township High School practice grounds for the program’s annual one-week padded summer camp.

Rochelle is just over one month away from its season-opener against Marion, and first-year head coach Kyle Kissack continued to push his players through team drills on Monday as the Hubs condition for the fall. With tougher competition on the schedule this season, Kissack understands the importance of each day.

“Our kids have had a great summer,” Kissack said. “We’ve been going since June and this is another step in our process to get ready for the season.”

Rochelle returns several starters on an offense that averaged 35 points per game this past season. All-Conference offensive lineman Will Jandak anchors the line of scrimmage for the Hubs, and Rochelle’s running back core features 2017 All-Conference honorees Eddie Villalobos and Brandon Johnson. Senior quarterback Andrew Johnson will enter his third season on the varsity team.

 “We have all of our base stuff in,” Kissack said. “Now it’s about adding a few wrinkles to give ourselves a shot at being a little more creative offensively.”

Seniors will be found nearly everywhere on the Rochelle defense this coming season. Noah Knight and Louie Mancinas took reps in the secondary, while Larry Beck and Greg Ricketts worked in the linebacking group with Villalobos and Johnson. James Hart, Edwin Vega and Nick Henson practiced on the defensive line alongside Jandak.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on the defensive side of the ball this summer and the kids have responded well,” Kissack said. “We have our scheme in and our adjustments to formations in, so now it’s about cleaning things up and making sure we’re communicating. We’re putting some motions and different sets in front of them so we can continue to progress over the next few weeks.”

The Hubs are vying to make the postseason for the third consecutive season, and returning players will try and build off last season’s run to the IHSA Class 4A Quarterfinals, where Rochelle fell just short against Morris (14-9). Three of Rochelle’s first four opponents (Marion, Johnsburg and Geneseo) qualified for the playoffs in 2017, and the Hubs will also face Kaneland, who finished 7-4 last year, for the first time since losing to the Knights 41-7 in 2015.

“I think that, with every team and every season, it’s important to talk about finding ways to stay healthy and engaged throughout the entire season,” Kissack said. “That’s the primary focus for us right now. We want to make sure everybody is healthy going into the first week.”