Kevin Crandall got his wish.

“There’s nothing I enjoy more than hearing the kids ring that bell,” the veteran head coach of the Rochelle Township High School varsity football team said, He was referring to the Hubs’ tradition of ringing the bell outside the football field after every home win.

Crandall got to hear the bell loud and clear Friday night after the Hubs rolled over the Sycamore Spartans, 43-21. Besides giving the 6-3 Hubs an outright berth in the upcoming playoffs, the win was Crandall’s last regular season home victory as he is retiring at the end of this season after 31 years of coaching, the last 24 in Rochelle.

“It was nice to get out of here with a win today,” he said, modestly.

“It’s a great feeling,” senior Ehren Metzger said, adding it was even better coming against a big rival like Sycamore (3-6). “We were really pumped up.”

“We knew it was going to be his last regular season home game so we really practiced hard all week and it carried into the game,” senior teammate Austin Tracey added. “We knew there was going to be a big crowd. It was very exciting.”

All week, junior Eddie Villalobos said, the coaches stressed “four yards, four yards, just work on getting that and the big runs will come.”

They certainly did.

Scoring touchdowns the first six times they got the ball, the Hubs rolled up 381 yards rushing on 52 attempts. Metzger and Brandon Johnson led the way with 166 and 100 yards respectively as each scored a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Metzger’s TD runs were for 52 and three yards; Johnson’s TD runs were for 32 and 29 yards.

Alex Harvey added 73 yards rushing for Rochelle, as well as a touchdown.

Sycamore gained 131 yards on the ground, including 125, by junior running back Connor Smith.

“We were able to run the ball consistently,” Conrad said. “We knew Sycamore could score quickly and we wanted to limit their possessions.”.

Rochelle senior quarterback Noah Mershon completed the Hubs’ only pass of the game when he connected with Metzger for a 31-yard touchdown to cap off Rochelle’s first drive of the game. The pass seemed to catch the Spartans completely off guard as Metzger was able to race past the Sycamore defensive backfield, leaving him wide open.

Metzger also had a second quarter interception near midfield.

On the other side of the field, Sycamore quarterback Justin Pottorff completed 18 of 26 for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to senior Luke Ryan. Ryan, the son of Sycamore head coach Joe Ryan, caught 15 passes for 118 yards.

Ryan’s first TD reception came on their first possession, which cut the score to 8-7. It was as close as the Spartans could get as Rochelle totally dominated the game. A lot of credit goes to their offensive line, which included starting tight ends Charlie Jandak and Blake Albers, tackles James Kerfin and William Jandak, guards Kyle Eyster and DiQuan Ishmon, and center Bazil Bennett.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d have the career I’ve had,” Crandall said, his voice choking up a little. “I feel truly blessed.”

“It’s pretty exciting to go out on a note like this,” Tracey said.

But, as coach and players quickly pointed out, the whole season isn’t over yet, only the regular season. Who the Hubs will play will be announced this weekend.

“We have a lot of playoff games before us – hopefully,” Crandall said.

As Tracey put it, Friday’s big win was a great way to start the playoffs off.