We haven’t needed to throw the ball over the last four or five weeks, but I knew that I needed to make it count if I had an opportunity in the playoffs.”

Carson Lewis

ROCHELLE — Senior quarterback Carson Lewis was a star on both offense and special teams Friday evening, when the Rochelle Hub varsity football team kicked off the IHSA 5A Playoffs with a first-round matchup against the Marmion Cadets at Rochelle Township High School.

Lewis went 6-for-7 while throwing for 126 yards and a season-high three touchdowns as the Hubs dominated Marmion 42-7 and eliminated the Cadets from the playoffs. Lewis, who also handles kicking duties for the Hubs, saw his teammates recover two successful short kicks that gave extra possessions to the Rochelle offense, which rushed for nearly 300 yards in the win. Rochelle (9-1, 4-1 Interstate 8) will face No. 7 seed Benet Academy next Friday at 7 p.m. at RTHS.

“It’s a big confidence boost for me,” Lewis said. “We haven’t needed to throw the ball over the last four or five weeks, but I knew that I needed to make it count if I had an opportunity in the playoffs. Our receivers did well and our linemen were phenomenal… We can run the ball, but we can also pass the ball when we need to. That’s what makes us a dangerous offense.”

Lewis launched the first of his career-high three touchdown passes midway through the second quarter. With Rochelle ahead of the Cadets 12-0, Lewis dropped back and spun a 24-yard touchdown throw over the middle to sophomore wingback Dylan Manning, who ran out of the backfield and up the seam for the score. Lewis and Manning connected on a nearly identical play during the third quarter, when the senior found the sophomore for a 28-yard touchdown.

“We’re always hungry and we have great chemistry,” Lewis said. “We’re all great friends and we all want to keep competing. We know we’re going to be playing against the Catholic schools in the playoffs and we have to keep being nasty on offense and rallying to the football on defense.”

Rochelle scored its first touchdown less than two minutes into the game, taking a 6-0 lead after junior fullback Roman Villalobos stormed through the middle of the Marmion defense for a 56-yard touchdown run. While Lewis stole the show through the air, Villalobos dominated the Cadets on the ground, carrying the ball for a team-high 172 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Villalobos also became Rochelle’s third rusher to exceed 1,000 yards this season.

“It means everything to me because I knew I had to have a big junior year,” Villalobos said. “It’s really exciting and it’s a big confidence booster since we’re playing another academy next week. Without my linemen, I’d have zero yards… Our mindset was that we had to play with an edge.”

Rochelle’s balance was on display toward the end of the first quarter, when senior wide receiver Elijah Harley hauled in an acrobatic 29-yard grab from Lewis to set up a 4-yard touchdown run from Villalobos. The Hubs, who totaled 422 yards on offense and averaged 9.4 yards per play, held a 34-0 halftime lead. That lead was partially built by a 20-yard touchdown throw from Lewis to senior tight end Jack Pavlak, who tiptoed near the goal-line pylon for the scoring grab.

Rochelle outscored Marmion (5-5, 3-0 CCL/ESCC Red) 22-0 in the second quarter, where the Hubs recovered two short kickoffs that were bobbled by Cadet returners. One recovery came from senior Xavier Villalobos, while Harley snagged the second recovery. Defensively, Rochelle sacked Marmion quarterback Kam’ron Tolliver three times and forced two turnovers on downs. 

A running clock ensued after Villalobos rumbled forward for a 14-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Senior tailback Grant Gensler finished with 89 rushing yards to aid the Rochelle offense, while senior linebacker Ethan Goodwin and junior linebacker Gavin Neale each totaled five tackles to lead the defense. Seniors Ryan Senne and Colton Czekala each had a sack.