Sycamore defense holds tough against physical Rochelle offense in 21-6 win

SYCAMORE — The Sycamore defense took a lot of pounding on Friday night from the visiting Rochelle Hubs, but didn’t break.

The Spartans ground their way to a 21-6 victory with big plays on offense and defense.

[ Photos: Rochelle at Sycamore ]

In the first half, Rochelle had 36 offensive plays to 19 for Sycamore, but the Spartans still led 14-0.

“It was a physical game,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said. “That’s what makes it hard. You had to work really hard to get 3 yards for a while. We had some great individual performances in a great team win. You need that to be successful.”

The Spartans (5-0) stopped the Hubs twice on fourth and short in their own territory in that first half to end two long drives without any points.

Diego Garcia came up big on another possession with a sack-fumble that the Spartans recovered on their own 30-yard line.

“I only do as much as the rest of my team does,” Garcia said. “They set me up for greatness.”

Three plays later quarterback Burke Gautcher connected with Carter York for a 35-yard touchdown bomb. York caught the ball in between two Hub defenders with only six seconds left in the half to put Sycamore up 14-0.

Gautcher was 4 for 6 with 94 yards and two touchdowns. York had two receptions for 46 yards and the score.

After a Tyler Curtis fumble, the defense forced a three-and-out that set up another big play.

On the next offensive play for the Spartans, Curtis got the handoff and broke through the middle of the line for a 35-yard touchdown run to open the scoring with 4:29 left in the half.

“I think it’s important for them to get that,” Ryan said. “I let it go and I want them to let it go, too. We can’t dwell on the past.”

Curtis finished with 10 rushes for 60 yards and a touchdown. He also had one reception for 36 yards.

The Spartans kept up the defensive pressure in the second half.

Garcia stuffed a third-down run deep in their own territory with a hit that energized the sideline.

On the very next play, York picked off a pass in the corner of the end zone to end the scoring threat.

Garcia also helped put the game away with an interception late in the fourth quarter that he returned to the 10-yard line.

“It was great,” Garcia said. “I wish I could have cribbed it, but I was tired.”

That interception set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Gautcher to Colton Sharpness for a 21-0 lead.

For the Hubs, (3-2), they did everything, but put points up on the board. The offense controlled the game at the line of scrimmage early, but couldn’t get into the end zone. The Hubs defense recovered two fumbles and limited the Spartan offense.

“A couple of key points for us really was to have long, sustained drives that ended in points and to limit their explosive plays to one,” Hubs coach Kyle Kissack said. “We had long, sustained drives that didn’t finish with points and they had more explosive plays than we did. That’s really what it comes down to.”

The Hubs finally got on the board with 2:40 left in the game on a 6-yard pass from Carson Lewis to Grant Gensler.