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ROCHESTER — AJ Easley has already set up the year-long practice schedule.
He’s solidified times for the final week of November. In year’s past, the Rochester High School football team has feasted with their families on Thanksgiving.
Easley, now in year six at the helm, wants the Warriors to feast on opponents during a playoff run not yet accomplished in school history.
“We maybe had more seniors or more returners, I don’t know if we’ve had as talented a group coming back” Easley said.
Consider the expectations heightened.
Rochester’s roster from top to bottom has depth, size, experience and plenty of returning hardware in attempting to repeat as Class 1A Evergreen League champions and win multiple playoff games.
It’s been since 2002 the Warriors have won a playoff game. They lost in the Round of 24 against Life Christian Academy by a 36-22 verdict.
Bottom line, to the bounty of returners, the league title didn’t mask the disappointment of going one-and-done in the postseason, again.
“I really feel like the leaders we have can push everyone to make it (to the state championship game)” senior lineman Wyatt Dahl stated.
Dahl and tailback Ethan Rodriguez pocketed league honors as the Lineman of the Year and MVP awards, respectively. They’re two of the natural leaders for a team that has a program-high 65 kids out this year.
Word is getting around.
“I feel a lot more confident,” Rodriguez said. “Everyone here, I grew up with most of these guys, we’ve been good. This is the best group we’ve had.”
Rodriguez and Xander Peterman were the 1-2 punch for Rochester. While the former bulldozed his way to 22 scores and over 1,500 yards, it was the latter that was close to 1,000 yards and an additional 13 touchdowns.
Easley mentioned several others will still get touches, but the bulk of the load will go to his two reliable weapons. There will also be a new QB in sophomore Easton Singleton.
“Xander is that bell cow, that workhorse,” he said.
Rodriguez has already solidified his college decision with a verbal to Idaho.
“With the new transfer rules, it is better to commit your junior year summer,” Rodriguez stated. “It is a big weight off my shoulders.”
The line blocking for those two is one of the biggest Easley has had in his tenure.
Stanton Smith was a first-team all-league pick as was junior Jackson Allman. Chris Taritos, another senior, snared first team honors on the defensive line.
“Everybody is bought in,” Dahl said. “We can go far. This group feels different. We want to play further on.”
Maddox Rodgers anchors the linebacker room off a team-best 97 tackles plus added nearly double digits combined tackles for loss and sacks.
Not bad for a player that was in a car accident his freshman year and didn’t play until the end of football season. Still, he knew the accident wasn’t going to define him when his career hadn’t even started.
“At first, the confidence wasn’t there,” Rodgers said. “There’s not much an option. You gotta (go play).”
The game against Montesano, at home and in the slop, ended up as a 16-12 victory that put Rochester in the driver’s seat for its first league title since the turn of the century.
Yet the 0-2 start to the year and having to play catch up is one of the factors of the 5-4 record not being enough to host a first round playoff game.
Add in losing the Scatter Creek Showdown to arch rival Tenino, the Warriors were inconsistent in piecing together quality victories.
“We got to be prepared like we’re playing in a state championship game,” Dahl said.
Starting in Week 1 against another 1A qualifier in King’s Way Christian and the following week in the home opener versus Castle Rock are games they’re not taking lightly.
Or the only football happening over Thanksgiving in Rochester will be the NFL games on TV.
“As long as people put in the effort, we’ll go far,” Rodgers said.
