Richmond-Burton finishes regular season unbeaten, beats Rochelle for conference title

ROCHELLE – Entering the evening as the No. 2 ranked football team in Class 4A, Richmond-Burton finished off an unbeaten regular season Friday, outlasting Rochelle 41-20 in a physical battle for the Interstate 8/Kishwaukee River Conference Blue Division crown.

Running back Steven Siegel carried the load for the Rockets (9-0, 5-0 I-8/KRC Blue), rushing for a team-leading 193 yards and five touchdowns on 27 carries. Quarterback Joe Miller was perfect from the pocket, completing 5-of-5 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown to wide receiver Zachary Smith. The win continued an impressive stretch for the Rockets, who are 41-1 across regular season and playoff games dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

“We knew we had to be physical and run the ball,” Siegel said. “They have a run-heavy team and we knew they had a good line and good running backs. It felt good to win and it sets us up for the playoffs. Our offensive line works really hard and they were really physical tonight. The backdoor cuts were there for me tonight and I was able to take advantage of them.”

The Rockets started strong on the defensive end, holding Rochelle (7-2, 4-1 I-8/KRC Blue) to only four plays on its opening drive and forcing a turnover on downs. After Miller threw an excellent pass to Smith down the Richmond-Burton sideline for a 23-yard gain on a fourth-and-18 play, Siegel rushed for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Rockets an early lead.

A three-and-out on Rochelle’s next series allowed Richmond-Burton to take over near midfield. The Rockets quickly marched down the field, with running back Toby Quentrall-Quezada sprinting outside for a pair of 10-yard runs to set up Siegel’s 2-yard touchdown run up the middle. Richmond-Burton led 14-0 into the second quarter, where Rochelle running back Garrett Gensler escaped off the right side for a 30-yard touchdown run to get the Hubs on the board.

“We tried to be as physical as possible tonight,” Siegel said. “We knew they were going to run the ball heavily and even though we let up some big plays, I thought we did well on defense.”

Rochelle was unable to stop Siegel and the Richmond-Burton offense, which averaged 6.5 rushing yards per attempt and totaled 352 yards. A 51-yard scamper from Siegel led to a 12-yard touchdown run on the next play to help the Rockets take a 21-6 lead midway through the second quarter. Richmond-Burton forced its first turnover on the next Hubs drive, with Smith intercepting a fourth-down pass from Rochelle quarterback Hayden Inman near the sideline.

The Rockets capitalized on the Hubs mistake, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run from Siegel to earn a 28-6 halftime lead. Looking for some positive momentum, Rochelle successfully recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter, which led to a nearly four-minute-long drive capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run from Gensler, who rushed for 93 yards and three scores.

Richmond-Burton struck through the air midway through the third quarter, when Miller dropped back and fired a 29-yard touchdown pass over the middle to a wide open Smith. Rochelle answered the Rockets late in the third quarter, with running back Trey Taft breaking tackles on a 37-yard run before Gensler scored to cap off a nine-play, 80-yard drive for the Hubs offense.

The Rockets led 34-20 entering the fourth quarter, where Richmond-Burton melted the clock away with a 14-play, 53-yard drive that took almost nine minutes away and resulted in a 2-yard Siegel touchdown run. The Rockets defense held on Rochelle’s final drive, forcing consecutive incompletions and ending the evening with a sack. Richmond-Burton will enter the playoffs as a potential top seed seeking to play in its second IHSA State Championship game in four years.

“This win sets us up to achieve great things, but we know we have to go out there and achieve those things ourselves,” Siegel said. “We have to continue to push and keep fighting. A lot of us were juniors on last year’s team that made a deep playoff run and I think that experience will really help us. We played some really good opponents and we’re a much better team now.”