Mitch Roerick, senior at Rugby High School, knows he has to stay aggressive as he plays the line. If he gets tired, he slackens a bit. If he has anything to say about it, it won’t happen again this season.

If he can do his part, and the team works together, Rugby will most likely be seeded number two in the playoffs. Of course, they have to beat Larimore on Friday, October 15. That is their last game of the regular season.

Roerick plays both the offensive line and the defensive line. He played on Rugby’s offensive line last year but this year added the defensive line.

“He plays both ways and does nice things,” said Coach Scott Grochow. “He has really progressed since freshman year.”

Roerick has been playing football since he was in the 7th grade. He likes the teamwork and it’s really fun.

“I know a lot about blocking and where to go,” he said. The area he works a little harder at is staying aggressive. But he knows this about himself and can do it if he puts his mind to it.

He plans to do that against Larimore on Friday and again in the playoffs.

Since Cavalier is rated number one and has been since the beginning of the season, how does the Rugby Team psyche themselves up for the rival?

“We know we beat them last year, if we do everything we are supposed to do, we’ll beat them,” said Roerick.

If Rugby is seeded number two, what has to happen to go all the way?

“We have to stay together as a team,” said Roerick. “We fall apart if we don’t stay together.”

That means team members encourage and cheer each other on rather than point fingers of blame.

The Rugby team blasts heavy metal music to get pumped up for a game, according to Roerick. As for him, he gets rested up and eats.

Would you like to end your high school football career with a state title?

“Yes,” is his resounding answer.

If the opportunity comes to him to play competitive football after high school, he said maybe he would.

Mitch is the son of Robert andDenise Roerick, Rugby.

Rugby and North Prairie gear up for playoffs

Rugby is seeded number two and North Prairie number three as they go into the final games of the regular 11-man season on Friday, October 15. Rugby will play Larimore at Rugby and North Prairie will play Langdon at home.

North Prairie has some challenges this year for playoffs.

The North Prairie team is saddened by the death of one of their starting players in a tragic accident on Monday, October 11, the coach said. The name of the player has not been released at this time, honoring the wishes of the family.

They also have two other key players sidelined by injuries, Jared Vandal and Marshall Lange. The team has chosen to go ahead and play and give it their best shot.

North Prairie has made the semi-final round, two out of three years and plans to try again.

“We are waiting for the other region to finish so we know who we play,” said Coach Davy Zinke.

After completing their season on Friday night, Rugby will begin the first round of playoffs on Saturday, October 23 on their home field.

“We will play either Maple Valley-Enderlin or Milnor-North Sargent,” said Coach Grochow.

He said the team will need to be aggressive up front and let home field be an advantage.

Rugby is well aware that Cavalier has been rated number one all season and will most likely be the team to beat to earn the state title.

“I like to think we’ll be able to compete with anybody,” said Coach Grochow. “We’ve got to do our homework and then execute.”

“We won’t play Cavalier until the semi-finals, if both teams get that far,” he added.

“Our players have worked hard this season,” said Grochow. ” They have been successful at the junior varsity level as well as the varsity level. We have seen a lot of athletes make very good progress.”