Alden-Hebron running back Caleb Linneman is the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week MVP for Week 4 after rushing for 395 yards and scoring eight touchdowns in a 61-37 win over Abundant Life School (Madison, Wis.) in Illinois 8-Player Football Association action.

The 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore scored seven rushing TDs and caught a TD pass.

Linneman answered a few questions from sports reporter Joe Aguilar.

What do you like about 8-man football?

Linneman: It gives us an opportunity to play. It’s still football, even though it’s only eight guys instead of 11. You still get to hit, and you’re still trying to work as hard as everybody else.

What’s your favorite part about it?

Linneman: My favorite part about it is working with the great team dynamic. We got great coaches here, great players. They all work together really well.

What allowed you to be so successful offensively against Abundant Life?

Linneman: We have great linemen. We have our senior center Kyle Ainger. We have our senior tight end Colton Crowell. We got a sophomore guard Max Benitez. Johnny Misiek is a junior guard, and then we have our tight end Fab (Fabian) Carreno. He’s also doing really well in our pass game. He’s probably one of our better pass catchers. We’re sending him on routes most of the time. And then, also, we have a great fullback Jack Stewart. He’s also a sophomore who makes big holes for me. You can give him the ball, and he can get 10-20 yards. He runs hard.

Your Alden-Hebron Giants are 4-0. What’s been the key to the success?

Linneman: I think a key is controlling time on the clock, long progressive drives that turn into scoring drives. You don’t want to take up all the time and not score. We try to take as much time as we can with the clock and score. We try to get our run game going early, and then we try to throw our pass game in too, just to throw [the opponent] off, so they’re not always keying on the run game.

Do you have a favorite NFL team?

Linneman: Yes, the Green Bay Packers. My dad is actually a Green Bay Packers fan, most of his side of the family is. But the funny thing is, my mom is a Bears fan, and so is all of her family. The Packers fans of the family are always rooting against the Bears, and [the Bears fans] are always rooting against the Packers. It’s a nice family thing.

Speaking of your family, you’re the oldest of five of Tom and Jenny. What can you tell us about your four siblings?

Linneman: Kyle is the next [oldest], and also plays on this team [A-H varsity]. He plays quarterback and linebacker and sometimes running back, too, on the frosh/soph team. Cora is the next one. She plays football on the middle school team. Kane is the next one. He also plays middle school football, so he always has fun with that, and then Caden is our youngest. He’s 5, and he wants to get out there and play [football], but he’s not old enough.

What’s the coolest thing about attending a small school such as Alden-Hebron (enrollment 109 students)?

Linneman: I think the coolest thing is probably that you get to know everybody. Everybody knows you. It’s not like you’re walking around and you’re, like, ‘Who’s that kid?’ You know everybody. The teachers know you. It’s really easy to make good relationships with all the teachers because they know you personally, so then they can help you a little bit better. They know how you learn, so it’s a little bit easier for them to help teach you.

You wrestled on varsity as a freshman. What other sports do you play?

Linneman: I do baseball, and I tried doing track last year [at the same time], but there were too many conflicts on my schedule, so I couldn’t do both.

Is there a sport that you want to try that you haven’t?

Linneman: I think I’ve tried all most all of them. When I was younger, I always wanted to play hockey, but my parents didn’t really want me to try that. I’ve always liked the more physical sports because you get to hit somebody. Like with football and wrestling, you’re able to have contact and not get in trouble for it. You can get in trouble with your siblings, just like messing around and everything, but then you get out here [on the football field], and you get to hit somebody and not get in trouble.

You’re a Packers fan, but you’re aware that Bears QB Caleb Williams had four TD passes and 298 passing yards against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Which Caleb had the better week: Williams or Linneman?

Linneman: It’s hard to gauge that because [the Bears] played a better team than us, and they’re in the pros, but I think we both had a really good game.