Coming off an impressive Week 1 victory over Geneseo, the Rochelle football team came to Chicago Saturday afternoon hoping to build upon it.

But after jumping out to a big early lead over King, the Hubs found themselves in a battle in the fourth quarter. However, some clutch runs from junior running back/defensive back Dylan Manning led to the score that ultimately allowed Rochelle to hold off the pesky Jaguars 28-18 at Gately Stadium.

“That was a tough game, way different from last week,” said Manning, who ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and added a key two-point conversion late. “We struggled stopping the run.”

Rochelle (2-0) began the scoring on the game’s opening possession as a 40-yard completion from senior quarterback Van Gerber to Cohen Haedt set up Manning for a three-yard touchdown run. Tyler Gensler added two points on a run, giving the Hubs an 8-0 just two minutes into the contest.

Later in the quarter following an interception by Manning of a Tremaine Ford II pass, Gerber (2-of-5, 52 yards) found Brode Metzger in the right corner of the end zone for a 12-yard score and a 14-0 Rochelle lead after 12 minutes. Gerber later left the game with an unspecified injury.

When Manning went in from a yard out with eight minutes left in the first half, it appeared the Hubs would cruise to victory. But King (0-2) refused to yield and embarked on a 65-yard scoring drive that ate up over six minutes. A one-yard run by Jamar Lewis (21 rushes, 163 yards) got the Jaguars on the board with 1:52 left before halftime.

Haedt, on in relief of Gerber, had Rochelle inside the red zone in the final seconds of the half. But he bobbled a snap, and the loose ball was scooped up by King’s Pharoah McThune, who rambled 80 yards to the house to cut Rochelle’s lead to 20-12 at halftime.

Receiving a huge energy boost from McThune’s score, the Jaguars began the second half with another impressive 65-yard march. This one lasted over nine minutes and was capped by a 12-yard score by Lewis on 4th and 2 from the Rochelle 12. But the Hubs stopped Nathaniel Guy short of the goal line on the two-point attempt, leaving the score 20-18 at the 2:45 mark of the third quarter.

“King’s a well-coached team that executed at a high level today,” Rochelle coach Kyle Kissack said.

The Hubs, reeling from King’s surge, needed a strong response, and got it on the ensuing drive.

Beginning at its own 45, Rochelle went on a time-consuming drive of its own, eating up about eight minutes. Manning came up with two key conversions on fourth down to keep the drive alive.

The first, on fourth and one from the King 36, was a spectacular effort by Manning as he broke away from what looked like a loss in the backfield to scoot forward six yards.

“As soon as I knew I was going to get the ball, I knew I wasn’t going to go down before the sticks,” Manning said.

Then on fourth and two from the 22, he picked up 12 yards.

Manning’s heroics set up Haedt’s seven-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Andrist with 7:42 remaining in regulation.

“(Haedt) came in and struggled at the start, but he settled in and did great,” Manning said.

Manning added the two-point conversion to give Rochelle a 28-18 lead.

“Dylan’s as disciplined of a football player that we have,” Kissack said. “He’s dialed in on the things outside in terms of preparation. He played very well offensively and defensively.

King wasn’t done yet, however, and the Jaguars quickly marched into Rochelle territory. But Reece Harris intercepted a Ford pass at his 20 with around three minutes left to ice the win for the Hubs.

Roman Villalobos ran for 78 yards on 18 carries for Rochelle.

“There’s a lot of teachable moments for our program,” Kissack said. “Specifically finding ways to work through adversity and be resilient through those tough situations. We’ve got to find ways to continue to get better daily.”