Senior linebacker Ethan Goodwin was among the returning starters making plays on defense this past Tuesday, when the Rochelle Hub varsity and fresh-soph football teams traveled west for a combined practice at Sterling that included 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills.
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STERLING — Senior linebacker Ethan Goodwin was among the returning starters making plays on defense this past Tuesday, when the Rochelle Hub varsity and fresh-soph football teams traveled west for a combined practice at Sterling that included 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills.
The Rochelle defense stood out during the team period of Tuesday’s practice, with several Hubs making stops at or behind the line of scrimmage against the Sterling offense. Rochelle is in the second year of its new defensive scheme, which was installed by defensive coordinator Brett Zick last season. Goodwin said that he and his teammates are continuing to grow more confident in the new scheme, which features four defensive backs and three defensive linemen.
“It’s been a good summer defensively,” Goodwin said. “We’re building off of what we did last season and we’re also implementing some new things that will help us for this season… Our new scheme works better because more teams are passing nowadays and in the past, we only had one safety over the top to cover. We have two safeties now and we’ve been able to adapt.”
Tuesday’s practice highlighted the final week of the summer schedule for the Hubs, who are currently in an off week and will return on Monday, Aug. 12 for the first official practice of the 2024 season. Among the activities included in Tuesday’s practice were 11-on-11 team offense and defense as well as 7-on-7 drills for returning skill players. Linemen were also active on Tuesday, with players working through 5-on-5 drills as well as 1-on-1 and 2-on-1 workouts.
“We’ve been tired of hitting people with purple helmets for three months straight,” senior lineman Colton Czekala said. “It’s nice to see some different looks, especially from a team that we won’t see on our schedule. I have high expectations for all of us and we’ve all been together since our Junior Tackle days. I’ve been pushing myself and I know the guys are pushing themselves too. We play a lot of different teams this year, but we can’t worry about who we play and whether it’s going to be an easy game or a hard game. Our goals up front are to work hard everyday.”
Rochelle’s summer concluded with 7-on-7 scrimmages at Byron on Friday. The Hubs are seeking to reach the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season under head coach Kyle Kissack. Rochelle’s schedule will be very different from previous years, as the Interstate 8 Conference and the Kishwaukee River Conference are no longer working together on the joint schedule.
As a result, Rochelle will play four nonconference games including a Week 9 road game in Windsor, Missouri. The Hubs will also be the home team in a Week 3 neutral site contest against Highland at Illinois Wesleyan. Returning to Rochelle’s schedule are LaSalle-Peru, Morris, Kaneland and Ottawa, who the Hubs haven’t seen since 2021. Despite a tougher schedule than they’ve seen in recent years, Rochelle players are eager for the challenge.
“We compete with each other daily and the competitiveness doesn’t stop,” Goodwin said. “The biggest thing coach Kissack has talked about with us is our consistency and bringing the same energy everyday. I’m very confident in our group. We’ve been together since fifth grade and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing as long as we’re trying our best and leaving it all on the field.”
