Rochelle and Benet Academy meet up in the second round of the IHSA Football playoffs! For the first time since 2017, Benet has made it past the first weekend. Rochelle is 9-1 and utilizes a high-power running attack. The winner will move on to the 5A quarterfinals next weekend. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Rochelle takes the opening Benet kickoff to the Redwing 25-yard line and scores moments later
Michael Conway kicks this game off for the Redwings and he boots it short to Dylan Manning. He bursts through the initial line of defenders and breaks away past midfield before he’s brought down near the 20-yard line.
Moments later, the Hubs are on the one-yard line. They toss it to Grant Gensler and he’s able to knife through the defense for the first score of the game. With a successful two-point conversion, Rochelle goes up 8-0 just two minutes into the game.
Benet looks to respond on their first possession. Ryan Kubacki tosses a screen pass to Luke Doyle and he turns the corner and races down the sideline. He’s able to advance near the 25-yard line before he’s pushed out of bounds. Redwings move into Hub territory.
Benet is now operating in the red zone. Kubacki drops back, rolls out to his right to escape the pressure, and then throws over the middle looking for Ben Albert, but Grant Gensler jumps in front of it and takes it the other way. A penalty would negate the return, but the Hubs keep Benet off the board and go back to work on offense.
The Hubs head into the half with a 24-0 lead thanks to a strong ground game
With a minute left in the quarter, Manning takes the toss, utilizes some big-time blocks, and then beats the last defender to the pylon for another touchdown. With another two-point conversion, the Hubs are now up 16-0.
Now in the second quarter, Rochelle is back in the red zone. Carson Lewis fakes the handoff and rolls out to his left. He lobs it up to Jack Pavlak who secures the catch and nearly crosses the goal line. The Hubs are set up for a first and short.
On the next play, Gensler gets the carry and walks into the endzone easily. His second touchdown of the game makes it a 24-0 lead with seven minutes left in the half.
Rochelle takes care of Benet and moves on to the IHSA Football Quarterfinals
Moving on to the second half, the Redwings are in the red zone, this time with some trickery. They pull out the double reverse flea flicker and Declan Walsh is able to come down with the pass from Kubacki. Benet is on the scoreboard, but they’re still facing a 24-6 deficit.
Rochelle’s back in possession operating on their own 25-yard line. They hand it off to Gensler on the sweep, he finds a lane and he’s off to the races once again. He outruns a couple of Redwings down the sideline and crosses the goal line for the third time in the evening, giving the Hubs a 32-6 lead. Rochelle tacks on one more touchdown as they defeat Benet 38-6. They move on to the quarterfinals and will play the winner of Nazareth and Woodstock North.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
