Alex Harvey knew exactly what the Yorkville Foxes were doing, and the senior fullback and linebacker didn’t wait to jump his gap and create the Hubs varsity football team’s biggest special teams play this season.
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ROCHELLE — Alex Harvey knew exactly what the Yorkville Foxes were doing, and the senior fullback and linebacker didn’t wait to jump his gap and create the Hubs varsity football team’s biggest special teams play this season.
Frustrated after fumbling on Rochelle’s opening possession Friday night, Harvey looked to exact his revenge on the Yorkville punting unit, which tried to trick the Hubs by lining up in a short-snap formation. But the 5-foot-10-inch, 195-pounder soared over the line of scrimmage, blocking the attempt and recovering the football before motoring 30 yards down field for Rochelle’s first touchdown of the night.
“We saw a play very similar to that one a week earlier,” Harvey said. “I was on a blitz and at that point I was upset about what happened earlier… I saw the ball and I knew after I went for it that I had to score.”
The touchdown was one of three Harvey scored on the evening, and senior wingback and safety Ehren Metzger continued his fast start to the season with four touchdowns of his own to help the Hubs roll over Yorkville by a final score of 48-17. Metzger rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries while catching a 51-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Noah Mershon.
“Our offensive line has been amazing,” Metzger said. “They’re improving each week and the effort from all of those guys has been amazing. We knew we had a lot of mental mistakes last week and this week our goal was to avoid making the same kind of mistakes.”
Yorkville kicker Cade Henry booted a 26-yard field goal to cut Rochelle’s lead to 6-3 with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter. Harvey rushed for a 1-yard score early in the second quarter before Mershon’s touchdown pass to Metzger gave the Hubs a 20-3 advantage.
“I felt good, but it’s not about touchdowns for me,” Harvey said. “It’s about the team and how we played together. It’s a good start for us but we have a long season ahead of us so we have to continue getting better every week.”
The Foxes found some offensive rhythm to begin the second half, with quarterback Tyler Liaromatis capping off a 48-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush at the 8:20 mark to make it a 20-10 game after Henry’s extra point. But Yorkville had no answer for Rochelle’s rushing attack, which compiled 342 yards in the game.
Metzger scored Rochelle’s next two touchdowns to put the Hubs ahead 34-10. His third score came from 16 yards out, while his fourth touchdown rush began 27 yards from the end zone. Yorkville had one chance to remain in the game with possession near the 50-yard line, but junior Eddie Villalobos intercepted a Liaromatis pass to give Rochelle the ball back. Harvey scored four plays later to extend the team’s lead to 41-10.
“Our run defense has been really good,” Villalobos said. “They were running a lot and throwing quick passes… When it’s not a run my job is to sit back and help out the corners, and coach was telling me to get a pick all week so I got one.”
The Foxes scored one final time on a 75-yard kickoff return by Zack Katula, but it was too late for Yorkville to mount a comeback. Rochelle (2-1, 1-0 NIB-12) will have a few days to celebrate Friday’s win before gearing up for a big showdown on the road against the Morris Redskins, who defeated Quincy Notre Dame to remain unbeaten (3-0).