Football: Special plays cap off Senior Night win for Hubs

Albers, Jandak combine for memorable sequence in 42-0 victory over Plano

Russell Hodges
Posted 10/18/19

Charlie Jandak put the ultimate exclamation point on an exciting Senior Night victory when the Rochelle football team hosted the Plano Reapers on Friday.

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Football: Special plays cap off Senior Night win for Hubs

Albers, Jandak combine for memorable sequence in 42-0 victory over Plano

Posted

ROCHELLE — Charlie Jandak put the ultimate exclamation point on an exciting Senior Night victory when the Rochelle football team hosted the Plano Reapers on Friday.

Jandak has battled on the offensive line all season, creating holes for his teammates to carry the ball through. But with the Hubs winning by nearly six touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, head coach Kyle Kissack inserted Jandak at fullback, and the 265-pound senior took his first career varsity carry up the middle for a 2-point conversion that sealed Rochelle’s 42-0 win over Plano. The Hubs improved to 3-5 overall with the victory.

“Coach asked me if I wanted to play fullback and of course I said yes,” Jandak said. “I kept telling myself not to fumble the ball. I owed it all to my guys up front. They did everything they could to let me score those points… It’s a good way to wrap up our last home game at RTHS. I love this town and there’s a great football atmosphere here.”

The Reapers entered Friday’s game having scored only 15 points over their previous four contests. Plano didn’t find much offensive rhythm against Rochelle, punting on its first two possessions in the opening quarter and allowing the Hubs to take an early lead. Senior Gavin Ansteth gave Rochelle a 6-0 advantage with a 3-yard touchdown run, and senior Austin Greifenkamp added a 1-yard rushing score later in the quarter.

Plano turned the ball over on downs early in the second quarter, leading to Rochelle’s third scoring drive capped off by a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Ansteth, who led the Hubs with 176 rushing yards in the win. Greifenkamp ran in the 2-point conversion to give Rochelle a 20-0 lead, which stood at halftime. Plano’s best chance to score came late in the second quarter, but senior safety Ethan Etes intercepted Reaper quarterback Tony Licea to cancel out the threat.

Rochelle received the football to start the third quarter, and the Hubs continued dominating the line of scrimmage, compiling a nine-play, 86-yard scoring drive culminating in an 18-yard rushing touchdown from Greifenkamp, who recorded 110 rushing yards in the victory. Sophomore Eric Briseno’s 17-yard off-tackle run early in the fourth quarter set up a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Ansteth, with Greifenkamp converting the 2-point play.

As the game approached its conclusion, action picked up in the fourth quarter when senior linebacker Nick Albers intercepted a deep pass from Licea and retuned the football 39 yards to the Plano 5-yard line. Thinking he was heading out of the game, Kissack told Albers to line up at wingback, and showing shades of his older brother Matt Albers, a former Hub running back, Nick went left and scored his first career varsity touchdown on a 5-yard rush.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity,” Albers said. “I was a little tired after that interception but I’m glad coach Kissack gave me the shot to score my first touchdown. With what we’ve been through all season… I think we deserved this win. We made sure we knew who we were on defensively and we knew what our responsibilities were.”

The Hubs compiled 401 yards on offense while holding Plano to only 138 yards. Senior Keegan Davis-Carter totaled a team-high 10 tackles on defense, while sophomore Cam Ajazi added nine tackles including five for a loss. Albers, Jandak and junior Mike Schlenbecker each had one sack.