ROCHELLE — A talented group of sixth-graders has head coach Ben Mershon looking forward to another year of Rochelle Junior Tackle football. After finishing 6-2 during their first season of tackle football as fifth-graders in 2017, the sixth-graders have a great chance for continued success this season.

“I look forward to teaching the kids how to play the game,” Mershon said. “I’m hoping that we can put everything together by the first week of the season. I’m excited about this group because I think there is a lot of talent, and I think the kids will do very well this year.”

The sixth-graders will take the field for the first time this season against Princeton at Helms Park on Saturday, Aug. 11 at 1 p.m. Mershon has nearly twice as many sixth-graders (37) this year than he did last year (20), and with more players to use in game situations, Rochelle’s depth at sixth grade will put the team in position for many wins this season. Mershon said the key for success during the first week of games will be doing the fundamentals and staying focused.

“We want to win and it’s going to take a lot of discipline to do that,” Mershon said. “We’re going to get our basics down right now so we’ll be ready for our first game. We’ll be working on our 60-series plays and simple running plays. We don’t want to throw too much at them before our first game.”