ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Hub varsity football team will have only a few starters to replace from the 2023 season, when the purple and white went 7-3 overall while winning the Interstate 8/Kishwaukee River Blue Division and clinching their third consecutive postseason berth. 

With an experienced roster returning for the 2024 season, which kicked off with the team’s first official practice on Monday afternoon, the Hubs are primed for another strong campaign this fall. After an active summer schedule that included 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 scrimmages, head coach Kyle Kissack and his staff are excited about the competitiveness of this year’s varsity team.

“I genuinely appreciate this group and admire their competitiveness as a whole,” Kissack said. “They’ve had opportunities to play in big games and they’ve had moments where they’ve felt the sting of some tough breaks. Those will add fuel to what’s out there for us to accomplish this season. It’s a new season and a new team. There are a lot of returning faces and a lot of guys with experience. We’ll have to find ways to come together and complement each other.”

Rochelle will have roughly three weeks to prepare for its 2024 opener, which will be played at home against Woodstock on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. Offensively, the Hubs are welcoming back a load of returning starters including its entire backfield, which features sophomore wingback Dylan Manning as well as junior fullback Roman Villalobos and senior tailback Grant Gensler. Senior quarterback Carson Lewis also returns for his second season as the starter under center.

“It’s been a really long time since we’ve returned this many starters,” Kissack said. “Having our entire backfield back is huge and we’re only trying to find two new starters of the seven guys up front. We feel really good about what we have coming back and our challenge now is to grow from what we’ve accomplished in the past. We feel there’s more out there for us to achieve.”

The Hubs will run and throw behind an experienced offensive line that returns five starters including senior linemen Kaiden Morris, Colton Czekala, Alex Pemberton and Jack Carmichael as well as senior tight end Jack Pavlak. All five were I-8/KRC honorees last season, while Lewis and Rochelle’s three returning running backs (Gensler, Villalobos and Manning) were also I-8/KRC honorees in 2023, when the Hubs won their first conference title since 2004.

Defensively, Rochelle enters its second season operating within its 3-4-4 defensive scheme. The Hubs welcome back three starting defensive backs including senior safeties Grant Gensler and Elijah Harley as well as senior cornerback Xavier Villalobos, who were all I-8/KRC honorees last season. Also returning are senior linebackers Ethan Goodwin and Brandyn Metzger as well as senior lineman Ryan Senne, who was an I-8/KRC honoree during the 2023 campaign.

“The two things I like about our scheme are that it allows us to get our athletes on the field and we’re able to get fresh bodies in and out of the game on the defensive line,” Kissack said. “We have some really athletic kids on the perimeter and with only three kids on the line, we can rotate guys in and out every 4-to-6 plays. We’re able to play fresh and play fast as opposed to having our big bodies on the field all of the time. I feel good about where we’re at.”

Rochelle will compete in the Interstate 8 during the 2024 football season, which sees the Hubs move away from the combined Interstate 8/Kishwaukee River Conference arrangement from the last two seasons. The Hubs have four home games against Woodstock, Sycamore (Sept. 20), Morris (Oct. 4) and Kaneland (Oct. 11) as well as road games against Morton (Sept. 6), LaSalle-Peru (Sept. 27), Ottawa (Oct. 18) and Missouri Windsor (Oct. 25). Rochelle and Highland will unite for a neutral site game at Illinois Wesleyan University on Sept. 13.

“We just need to worry about today and find ways to get better today,” Kissack said. “This group is capable of playing really well throughout the season and putting itself in a position to make a run in the playoffs. There are a lot of things that can happen between now and then, so the question becomes whether or not we can be resilient and reliable through those tough moments. That builds our character and our ability to play through those tough moments.”