ROCHELLE — The Hubs varsity football team may have not been overly excited about taking down the Ottawa Pirates roughly two weeks ago, but the Rochelle boys increased their intensity before throttling the Geneseo Maple Leafs by a score of 41-7 this past Friday.

Expect the Hubs to kick their energy up another notch when Rochelle (4-2, 2-0 NIB-12 West) faces the undefeated Sterling Golden Warriors (6-0, 2-0 NIB-12 West), who enter this week as the No. 2 team in Class 5A, on the road Friday, Oct. 6 in a game that will likely determine the winner of the Northern Illinois Big 12 West this year.

“I think the kids are excited for the opportunity to play,” head coach Kevin Crandall said. “Sterling has a very good team this year with a lot of size and speed, but our games have typically been very well-fought contests. We’re looking forward to going over there and seeing how we match up.”

Both Rochelle and Sterling entered last season’s matchup unbeaten in conference play before the Golden Warriors rolled over the Hubs 35-7 behind two special teams touchdowns by Alek Duran and Elias Edmondson. Sterling totaled 345 yards of offense to Rochelle’s 168 despite trailing in time of possession (32:37 for the Hubs and 15:45 for the Golden Warriors).

“We never put anything together offensively early in the game,” Crandall said. “We put a lot of pressure on our defense, and if we can’t consistently move the ball, then their offense is going to find a crack and somebody’s going to hit a big play. Our offense will be the key on Friday.”

The Hubs may have struggled to stop Sterling last year, but so did almost every other team in the area. The Golden Warriors won 11 consecutive games in 2016 before falling to Sycamore in the IHSA Class 5A Quarterfinals. With 16 victories in their last 17 games, Sterling has established itself as an elite high school program, and only a few teams including Sycamore and DeKalb, who lost to the Golden Warriors in double overtime, have solved the Sterling puzzle.

“The better personnel you have, the better you’re going to match up,” Crandall said. “DeKalb has similar speed, so for them the game probably didn’t seem like it was going as fast, and Sycamore had been getting better every week… If they played Sterling 10 times, Sterling would probably win 7 or 8 of them, but you only have to win on that one day.”

The Golden Warriors are returning several offensive playmakers from last year’s squad including running back Nyrel Sullivan, who rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns including an 80-yard scoring run to help propel Sterling over Rochelle in 2016. Quarterback Trey Morse accounted for 143 yards and one touchdown, and the senior will be under center for Friday’s game.

“Their running back and quarterback are both physical and extremely fast,” Crandall said. “They block well on the perimeter and if you bottle up their running game, then they have four really good receivers who can catch the ball and run after they catch it. For the type of offense they’re running, they have all of the right pieces.”

Sterling is averaging 50.2 points over its last five games, but the Golden Warriors have also stymied opponents with its defense, which is surrendering only 8.3 points per game this season. Sterling has gone neck-and-neck with Chicago (Phillips) for the top rank in Class 5A, but the Hubs are looking to shock the region with what could be a season-defining victory.

“They’re physical but I think their linebackers and their secondary are outstanding,” Crandall said. “They’re extremely fast… They’re really sound.”