Marmion’s first playoff game in three years ends in 42-7 loss at Rochelle

ROCHELLE – Marmion head coach Adam Guerra shared a heartfelt moment with his senior players after the Cadets suffered a season-ending loss to Rochelle on Friday night.

Entering as the No. 15 seed on the north end of the Class 5A bracket, Marmion arrived ready for its first playoff game since 2021. But the Cadets couldn’t contain the wing-T offense of the Hubs, who stormed for nearly 300 rushing yards while quarterback Carson Lewis fired three touchdown passes.

No. 2 seed Rochelle rolled for a 42-7 win in the first round. After the game, Guerra and his coaching staff shared hugs with each of their departing senior players.

“I’m so proud of this team and our senior class,” Guerra said. “We had a couple of rough years, but our kids came back and worked their butts off. We made a lot of good things happen this year, and our senior leadership was outstanding.

“I can’t say enough about these guys.”

Rochelle (9-1) will advance and face No. 7 seed Benet Academy in the second round next week.

The Hubs received the opening kickoff and wasted no time establishing the line of scrimmage, scoring on a 56-yard touchdown run by fullback Roman Villalobos, who rumbled right through the middle for the score. Villalobos – who ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns – plowed forward for a 4-yard score to put the Hubs up 12-0 late in the first quarter.

“We wanted to stop the run,” Guerra said. “We struggled with their play-action game, and we couldn’t get going on offense. We had some self-inflicted wounds, and those slowed us down.

“This was the first year in a new system, and we’re glad that our kids were able to experience a playoff game. We don’t see the kind of offense Rochelle runs in the Chicago Catholic League, but we know teams like Rochelle are out there in 5A. This was an important experience for us.”

Marmion (5-5, 3-0 CCL/ESCC Red) appeared to bring the Hubs within one score near the end of the first quarter, when wide receiver Bryan Scales broke loose down the near sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. But a holding penalty negated the scoring play, and a sack on the following down forced Marmion to punt.

The Cadets also saw a promising drive stalled early in the second quarter after a fourth-and-7 pass from quarterback Kam’ron Tolliver fell incomplete.

Rochelle took a 20-0 lead after Lewis connected on a 24-yard touchdown strike to wingback Dylan Manning, who ran out of the backfield and up the seam for the scoring reception. A big special teams mistake cost the Cadets on the ensuing kickoff, as a botched return on a short kick led to a recovery by Rochelle’s Xavier Villalobos and an extra possession for the Hubs.

Rochelle converted the Marmion mistake into points, taking a 26-0 lead on a 20-yard touchdown throw from Lewis to tight end Jack Pavlak, who tiptoed near the goal-line pylon for the scoring grab. The Cadets fumbled another short kickoff soon after, with Rochelle’s Elijah Harley getting the recovery. The Hubs cashed in once again, taking a 34-0 lead on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Lewis to Manning, who beat the Marmion defense on another seam route for the score.

The Cadets – held to 166 yards – moved the ball into Rochelle territory on their opening drive of the second half, but a key pass breakup by Manning on a fourth-and-7 down resulted in another turnover on downs. Senior running back Sean Dahlman turned in the lone highlight on offense for Marmion, breaking loose off the right side for a 56-yard touchdown run during the fourth quarter to help the Cadets avoid the shutout.

Dahlman finished with 117 rushing yards to lead the Marmion offense, while senior Jack Young recorded seven tackles for the Cadets defense. Tolliver went 8-for-14 passing and threw for 58 yards.