ROCK FALLS – It wasn’t as though they won the state championship, but the feeling had to be nearly the same.

The Mendota varsity football program has been desperately searching for a win – since Sept. 22, 2017, to be exact. Victory has never really been that close for Mendota since it overcame a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Rockford Lutheran, 32-28, more than two years ago.

But a streak of 20 consecutive losses is finally behind them as the Trojans staged another late-game rally to knock off Rock Falls, 26-21, in a Big Northern Conference slugfest on Oct. 18 at Rock Falls.

Mendota’s records now stand at 1-7 overall and in league play with the season finale coming up this week.

“This feels really good,” said MHS coach Keegan Hill, who earned his first win in his second season as the sideline boss. “I’m so happy for the kids. We shot ourselves in the foot several times, but the guys didn’t hang their heads. We showed a lot of character.”

Mendota running back Cody Jenner finished off a 15-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run with just 1:05 left in the game to seal the victory for the Trojans.

Mendota piled up 342 yards on offense and held Rock Falls to 183. Jenner rushed 23 times for 121 yards, while Ted Landgraf had 13 totes for 109 yards. Landgraf completed three passes for 107 yards. Noah Schueler led the Rockets with 19 carries for 114 yards.