The Rochelle Hub varsity football team saw three players receive All-Conference First Team honors from the Interstate 8 this season. Seniors Ethan Albers, Noah Messer and Ben Harvey all took home First-Team recognition for their achievements on the gridiron this spring.

Six Hubs earned All-Conference Honorable Mentions including seniors Crue Larsen, Gabe Neece, Grant Thompson, junior Braden Alfano and sophomores Garrett Gensler and Jaden Cook. Rochelle finished 2-4 in the Interstate 8 this season with wins over Sandwich and Ottawa.

Albers finished with 23 total tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one fumble recovery and one interception this season. The two-time Interstate 8 First-Team honoree will be continuing his academics and his football career as a two-way lineman at Wartburg College next year.

“I feel very honored to receive All-Conference and it shows that if you work hard, you will be rewarded,” Albers said. “I felt that I did good in applying more pressure to the quarterback and correcting small mistakes on both sides. I feel that I improved the most on the defensive side.”

Messer recorded 19 total tackles, including three tackles-for-loss, while adding one sack on the defensive line. A two-way starter who also played right guard, Messer brought home All-Conference First Team honors this year after being named an Honorable Mention last year.

“I felt very honored to be nominated for this award,” Messer said. “I was very proud that my hard work in the offseason drastically improved my performance on the field. I felt that I hit harder on both sides of the ball and I was much more aggressive. My defense has improved the most since last season and I was much more successful than I had been in past seasons.”

Harvey led all Rochelle running backs with 442 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, Harvey played inside linebacker on defense, totaling a team-leading 42 tackles including six tackles-for-loss. Harvey will be continuing his academics and athletics at WashU-St. Louis next year.

“I thought I improved the most in finding and hitting the holes harder at the running back position,” Harvey said. “I switched to fullback this year so that was important for me. I improved on falling forward and running through as opposed to around people. I thought I was a better leader this year than I was in the past and I thought I was more vocal this year.”