The Rochelle Hub varsity football team concluded its fall camp with the annual purple-white scrimmage Friday evening. The event wrapped up the 2021 Fall Meet the Hubs Night and kicked off the march toward Rochelle’s Week 1 matchup against Woodstock.
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ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Hub varsity football team concluded its fall camp with the annual purple-white scrimmage Friday evening. The event wrapped up the 2021 Fall Meet the Hubs Night and kicked off the march toward Rochelle’s Week 1 matchup against Woodstock.
“We had a great summer and a really good fall camp,” head coach Kyle Kissack said. “Our kids have really practiced well and I feel good about where we’re at. We have some things we need to get better at and we need to continue to grow through next week and prepare for Friday’s matchup. I thought our first group was really crisp tonight and I’m happy with our progress.”
Rochelle will field two football teams this season including a fresh-soph team and a varsity team. Both teams took the field on Friday, with first and second-team players taking reps on both sides of the ball. The Hubs will travel and face Woodstock on the road Friday, Aug. 27, with the fresh-soph game kicking off at 5 p.m. and the varsity game beginning at 7 p.m.
“They have a three-year returning starter at quarterback but they’ll be playing a lot of young guys too,” Kissack said. “I think our teams are very similar in that regard. They’ll be in a spread and we’re very familiar with that because we defend that every week. I think we’re all ready to play a game and our kids are looking forward to that. Monday will be a benchmark for us.”
The Hubs are looking for their first postseason berth since 2018 and their first winning record since 2017. Rochelle finished 2-4 in the Interstate 8 during the condensed spring season earlier this year, but the Hubs will see several new opponents this fall. With the Interstate 8 and Kishwaukee River Conferences combining for the 2021 football season, Rochelle’s conference schedule will include Richmond-Burton, Johnsburg, Harvard, Marengo, Plano and Sandwich.
“We need to stay together,” Kissack said. “We have a small group and we need each of our kids to make individual commitments to the group. We need to stay together through it all. Our kids are pretty tight and I’m excited to see how they come together and produce on the field.”
