STERLING — The Hubs varsity football team had no answers for Sterling running back Nyrel Sullivan when the Rochelle boys hit the road Friday evening for a Northern Illinois Big 12 West showdown with the Golden Warriors.

Sterling received the football to start the game, and Sullivan wasted no time making his presence felt, breaking several Rochelle tackles during a 65-yard touchdown run on the second play of the night. Sullivan finished the game with a team-high 265 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries, and Sterling totaled 401 yards of offense in a 41-6 victory over the Hubs.

“I thought we were OK on most of the snaps, but they have tremendous speed and [Sullivan] got loose a few times,” head coach Kevin Crandall said. “They’re just really, really good.”

Trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter, Rochelle (4-3, 2-1 NIB-12 West) looked to counter Sterling’s rushing attack with senior fullback Alex Harvey, who ran for 113 yards on 21 carries Friday night to lead his team. Harvey totaled 32 yards on three carries during Rochelle’s opening drive, but the Hubs were forced to punt after Sterling defender Christian Davila sacked senior quarterback Noah Mershon for an 8-yard loss on third-and-9.

The Golden Warriors pushed the ball down to Rochelle’s 15-yard line after a touchback on junior Brandon Johnson’s punt, but Harvey stopped Sullivan for no gain on fourth-and-1 to give the Hubs possession. Harvey also led Rochelle in tackles Friday night with six.

“Our kids didn’t give up by any means,” Crandall said. “They’re trying to play hard the entire time. Alex is physical and he’s never going to give up. He’s always going to play hard, so it was good to see that from him tonight.”

The Hubs were unable to muster up any offense in the first half, and the Golden Warriors quickly put Friday’s game out of Rochelle’s reach. Sterling (7-0, 3-0 NIB-12 West) finished a 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown rush by Marquez Williams to jump ahead 13-0, and after the Golden Warriors stopped Rochelle senior wingback Ehren Metzger for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-4, Sterling went 53 yards in five plays, with Sullivan scoring from 7 yards away to give the Golden Warriors a 20-0 advantage.

“We played a really, really good defense,” Crandall said. “It’s just hard to sustain anything. They’re so much better in the secondary than our receivers are that it’s hard to get anything in the passing game, plus their front kids are really athletic and they had a good pass rush. It was a hard night.”

Sterling put the Hubs in an even deeper hole just a few plays later when a bad exchange in the Rochelle offensive backfield resulted in a 35-yard fumble return touchdown by Jayden Villegas. The Hubs trailed 27-0 at halftime, but the Golden Warriors continued to push the ball down field, with Sullivan escaping Rochelle defenders for a 74-yard touchdown rush on Sterling’s first offensive play of the second half.

Sullivan scored his final touchdown of the night on a 24-yard rush during Sterling’s next possession to seal Rochelle’s defeat. With many reserves from both sides entering the game in the fourth quarter, the Hubs avoided a shutout by piecing together a 16-play, 90-yard scoring drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Cody Thompson.