ROCHELLE — Carson Lewis will be heading to the Windy City after graduating from Rochelle Township High School this spring. A two-year varsity starting quarterback for the Hubs, Lewis has committed to continuing his academics and athletics at North Park University next year. Lewis, who said he intends to study business, played four years of football at Rochelle.

“It was just different from being in Rochelle,” said Lewis, who visited the campus prior to announcing his commitment on social media last month. “I’ll be in Chicago and it’s a great opportunity for jobs after college. The campus is beautiful and the coaching staff is good. They’re on the rise in their conference and they are going to get better and better… I didn’t know if I would play, but the opportunity came and I’m happy that I get to keep playing football.”

Lewis became Rochelle’s starting quarterback during his junior season, when he threw for 634 yards and seven touchdowns as the signal caller for the team’s wing-T offense. Lewis helped lead the Hubs to a 7-3 record and an Interstate 8/Kishwaukee River Blue Division title, the school’s first conference title since 2004. As a senior, Lewis threw for 493 yards and six touchdowns as Rochelle went 10-2 overall and reached the IHSA 5A State Quarterfinals.

“I hope I can bring my hard work and leadership and compete with the other players there,” Lewis said. “I feel like I bring great leadership on the field. Rochelle gave me a great experience and I got to play quarterback all four years of my high school career. Playing at Rochelle helped me a lot to be able to continue my journey into college. Where I improved the most was getting stronger and throwing the ball farther. I improved my strength and my knowledge of football.”

An accomplished three-sport athlete at RTHS, Lewis earned All-Interstate 8/KRC honors and IHSFCA Academic All-State honors during his junior football season. Lewis, who played four years of basketball and is currently in his fourth year with the baseball team, eclipsed 1,000 career points during his senior basketball season in which he was an All-Interstate 8 Honorable Mention. Lewis has earned Academic All-Interstate 8 honors in each of his three sports.

“I hope I can get faster and stronger in college and I hope to have an even better knowledge of football,” Lewis said. “Rochelle football has taught me a lot. We learned how to be relentless and never quit during the game. We don’t quit and we just keep going until the game is over.”

Lewis played three seasons of varsity basketball and is currently in his second year of varsity baseball at Rochelle. Lewis helped lead the Hubs to 13 wins during his senior basketball season, which concluded in the IHSA 3A Regional Finals.  Currently Rochelle's lead-off hitter, Lewis pitches and plays center field for the Hub baseball team, which is 4-3 over its first seven games.

“I really think Carson is a great example of what grit can provide for an athlete,” RTHS head coach Kyle Kissack said. “His effort and attitude and toughness to put his head down and work relentlessly to grow his abilities impacted our team in ways that may not have shown up on the stat sheet. Carson responded and delivered in difficult moments and his coachability and his willingness to embrace challenges are something for younger kids in our program to emulate.”