BLOOMINGTON — Dominance on offense remained the theme for the Rochelle Hub varsity football team during its nonconference matchup against the Highland Bulldogs on Friday night.

Three Hubs rushed for over 100 yards and the Rochelle defense held Highland scoreless during the first half. In a neutral site matchup at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Tucci Stadium, Rochelle rumbled for nearly 400 rushing yards and continued its perfect start to the season, beating the Bulldogs 41-22. The Hubs (3-0, 0-0 Interstate 8) were in full control offensively, scoring on all six offensive drives while gaining 26 first downs and averaging nearly 7 rushing yards per carry.

“We want to come into every game on a good note,” senior center Colton Czekala said. “We get after it every day and something coach [Kyle] Kissack talks about is getting better everyday. We have a good mentality going into practice and that’s where we’ve excelled. We pride ourselves up front on long drives and playing physical football. We stay hungry and we’re never satisfied.”

Rochelle’s defense took the field to start the game, forcing Highland (1-2, 0-0 Mississippi Valley) into a three-and-out to give the football to the offense, which wasted no time establishing its superior rushing attack. Rochelle melted nearly seven minutes off the clock on its opening drive, which went 72 yards on 12 plays and concluded with a 6-yard touchdown run from sophomore Dylan Manning. Manning rushed for 119 yards and two scores on 15 carries in the victory.

Penalties were an issue for the Bulldogs, who saw a potential game-tying touchdown wiped off the scoreboard late in the first quarter due to an ineligible man downfield call. Rochelle’s defense took advantage of the Highland mistakes, with Manning intercepting an end-zone pass from Bulldog quarterback Blake Gelly on the second-to-last play of the opening quarter.

Rochelle regained possession after the turnover and extended its lead on a 39-yard touchdown run from junior Roman Villalobos, who exploded through the middle and outraced the Highland defense to the end zone. Villalobos rushed for 149 yards and three scores for the Hubs, who continued to shut down Highland’s quick passing game throughout the second quarter.

“I wouldn’t have gotten any of those yards without my linemen,” Villalobos said. “They were making the right calls and finding the right guys to block in order to open up holes for me. Our confidence goes up with each snap, but we know that we can’t get too excited. It all starts at practice for us. We’ve stayed locked in and we’ve been focused on the right things.”

The Hubs closed the opening half with a 74-yard scoring drive that was kept alive by a big second-down throw from senior quarterback Carson Lewis, who connected with senior tailback Grant Gensler near the Highland sideline for a 38-yard gain. The catch-and-run by Gensler, who had 152 total yards and 114 rushing yards in the game, moved the Rochelle offense into the red zone, where Villalobos punched in a 5-yard rushing touchdown to keep the Hubs rolling.

The second half was more of the same from the Rochelle offense, which overcame multiple procedural penalties to string together a 13-play, 88-yard scoring drive midway through the third quarter that erased almost seven minutes of game clock. Gensler gave the Hubs a 27-0 lead with a 6-yard touchdown run off the left side of the line of scrimmage. Highland receiver Blake Reinacher caught an 18-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter for the first Bulldog score.

Rochelle sealed its win in the fourth quarter, where a personal foul call on Highland led to a 19-yard rushing touchdown from Manning. Villalobos was the final Rochelle player to reach the end zone, barrelling forward for an 8-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. While the Bulldogs found their rhythm on offense in the fourth quarter, where Highland scored a pair of touchdowns, Rochelle’s large lead from the opening half was enough to keep the Hubs ahead.

Junior linebacker Gavin Neale and senior linebacker Ethan Goodwin tied for a team-high six tackles for the Hubs, who will begin conference play with a tough matchup against Sycamore at home next Friday. The Spartans are also 3-0 on the season with wins over DeKalb, Oswego East and Mahomet-Seymour. Sycamore held off the Hubs for a 21-6 victory last season.

“We need to make sure we have our eyes on the right guys and we have to keep bonding as a team,” Villalobos said. “If we protect ourselves and stick together, I think we can beat them.”