Eyes on the prize

It's finally football season, and the expectations for this year's Rockets are higher than they've been in years.

For the first time in the program's history, New Rockford-Sheyenne has agreed to a football-only co-op with another school: Maddock Public School (MPS).

Therefore, this year's team is officially the New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock Rockets.

The result has been an infusion of talent, upperclassmen and sheer numbers to the program, which bodes well for not only the varsity team, but also the junior varsity and junior high teams.

When their first practice kicked off on Thursday, August 3, Rockets Head Coach Elliott Belquist saw around 40 players just from grades 9-12 arrive to start the season.

It was "by far" the most players he's ever coached, said Belquist, which required some restructuring of how the coaches run practice.

"It's bringing me back to my college days," he said. "Trying to remember how we did stuff with more people and structure practice a little differently and keep everyone moving and involved. So it's a lot more organizing and making sure all the coaches are on the same page with different drills."

Belquist said practice has gone really well so far, and noted how beneficial it's been to have older kids practicing against people their size.

"Practice is just a lot more competitive," he said. "Older kids are able to go up against older kids, so it's almost like a game every day in practice. There's no easy reps and the games should slow down for these kids when we finally get going, just because of the competition they've gone up against every snap in practice."

Belquist added that he plans to take full advantage of the added numbers this season, using a fast style of play that should tire out their opponents who won't have as many opportunities to substitute for fresh players.

Additionally, the Rockets will enjoy a healthy number of upperclassmen from both NR-S and Maddock this season, a stark difference from this time last year when only two seniors were on the team.

Belquist added that everyone on the team is coming together as a cohesive unit, and that leaders are emerging and stepping up.

"It looks like [the Maddock players] have been there for years," said Belquist. "We haven't had any problems and everyone's jelling together very well early on."

Simply put, expectations are sky high for this year's Rockets, and they know it.

With the upperclassmen and sheer numbers at his disposal, Belquist said he's reminded of the 2012 season – the year NR-S last won a state championship.

Players to watch this season include senior Connor Knatterud, who tore through opposing defenses on the ground last season, racking up hundreds of rush yards and multiple rushing touchdowns.

The Rockets will also enjoy another running threat in Logan Maddock, a senior who comes over in the co-op with Maddock Public School.

Maddock has been an effective runner for Benson County, and has even been known to air it out as the Wildcats' quarterback. If all goes well, Maddock's presence alongside Knatterud could be reminiscent of the dominance Knatterud and Haydon Meier enjoyed last season.

The Rockets are also likely to rely on Maddock's experience as an impactful linebacker on defense.

Meanwhile, Belquist said the Rockets' starting quarterback is likely to be sophomore Easton Simon, who earned some reps as quarterback last season as only a freshman.

However, like they were last season, Belquist noted that they'll be creative on offense. So don't expect to see the same player at quarterback every snap.

Another important player for the Rockets will be junior Brody Weisenburger, who played well as a lineman last season.

However, Weisenburger suffered a broken toe during the Class B legion baseball tournament a few weeks ago, and hasn't joined the team for practice since.

Belquist said they're having him focus on healing for now, but is holding out hope that he'll join practice soon and play alongside his teammates for the first game of the season.

The Rockets varsity team will open their season on the road against the North Star Bearcats on Friday, Aug. 18.

The game won't be in Cando, however, as the field there is getting some work done. The game will instead be held at the field in Leeds, N.D.

Belquist believes the Rockets will be a great team this season, and encouraged fans to show up and cheer them on as they embark on what could be a special season.

"I strongly urge people to come out to the games and watch," said Belquist. "I think it's going to be a fun year."

The junior varsity and junior high teams will start their seasons with a home game in Maddock on Monday, Aug. 21. They take on the St. John Woodchucks at 4:30 p.m.