ROCHELLE - In a 35-14 loss to Geneva, Rochelle took a moral victory of sorts.

Consider: Geneva (7-0) is No. 3 in 7A, while the Hubs (4-3) are unranked in 5A. Rochelle had 23 healthly varsity players compared to a 75-man roster for Geneva. Rochelle's line was outweighed 35 pounds a player.

The Vikings had all-stater Michael Ratay (24 runs for 256 yards), while Rochelle's best runner Devon Mancillas was on the sidelines on crutches.

"I thought we played good," said Rochelle quarterback Nate Eyster. "They were just too big, fast and experienced."

"Rochelle's tough as nails," Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. "(Rochelle coach Kevin) Crandall has them prepared and disciplined. The harder you hit them, the more they fight back."

"Our kids played their butts off," Crandall said. "I'm proud as I can be of them."

Ratay gave Geneva a 14-0 lead with less than five minutes gone in the game on two touchdowns.

"He's the whole package with good speed," Crandall said.

Eyster found sophomore C. J. Navarro on a fourth down 19-yard pass to cut the lead to 14-7. After shutting down the Vikings' offense, Rochelle made it 14-14 on a Ben Schwartz 39-yard touchdown reception in traffic.

Schwartz led Rochelle on defense with seven tackles and an interception.

Geneva regained the lead for good on its next possession and stretched the advantage to 28-14 at halftime.

- Andy Colbert, rrstar.com