After withstanding a couple of challenges earlier in the season, the Rossville football team is building steam toward a bout with Silver Lake in two weeks, another obstacle in the path to a second straight 2A title.
The Bulldogs steamrolled Oskaloosa Friday 62-0 to improve to 5-0. Two interception returns for touchdowns and an avalanche of points in the first quarter limited the action of the starters. But coach Derick Hammes and his veteran players know what it takes to win the ultimate prize. Hammes said his players embrace the process, even on a night when the starters spend most of the night on the sideline.
“To our kids' credit, we talk about the process,” Hammes said. “The fact that we play well when there could be a letdown, that means that the kids are taking the task at hand seriously and they’re preparing hard and doing a good job. By doing that, when you do have a big game, it’s ordinary and it’s not such a big deal.”
The Bulldogs have a couple of big games ahead. They face Pleasant Ridge, a team receiving votes for the 2A top ten, next Friday. And two weeks away looms “The War on 24,” the annual clash with Silver Lake, another perennial state contender.
Hammes and the Bulldogs had to replace 11 starters from last year’s title team. He wasn’t sure how well the new group would gel, but he could look to all-state quarterback Torrey Horak to ease the transition.
“He’s been a four-year starter, and three of them at quarterback,” Hammes said of Horak. “He’s really improved every year. He’s gotten better at something each and every year. He’s one of those kids that we want to get the fullest out of. He’s had a great career, but we want to keep it going as long as we can.”
Horak accounted for over 3,000 yards of offense and 55 touchdowns last season. His stats are down this year because of spending so much time on the sideline during blowouts. But Horak said he feels good about the development of this new version of the Bulldogs.
“It’s been fun,” Horak said. “I feel like we’ve got some younger guys who have made strides the past couple of weeks. Four out of six of our skill position guys are new this year, and they have done real well. The offensive line is doing great. I feel like we’re starting to mesh real well as a team right now.
“Coach Hammes and I talked (recently) about how the last couple of weeks have been big for us. We just continue to get better every day.”
Horak is following in the footsteps of his older brother, Tucker, who led Rossville to back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015 and is now a standout at Pittsburg State. Torrey has the benefit of having seen what it takes, and that such success is attainable. But he said he doesn’t feel pressure to be like his brother.
“It’s nice. We talked about my just making my own legacy,” Torrey Horak said. “I’m not trying to follow in his footsteps.”
Through five games, Horak has passed for 685 yards and two touchdowns, and has rushed for 605 yards and two more scores.
The team’s second-leading rusher is senior Corey Catron, who has amassed 375 yards on the ground, with 10 touchdowns. Junior Kade Perine leads the team with 253 yards receiving on just 11 receptions.
The second-leading receiver, Tagen Kippes, is also a ballhawk on the defensive side. He scored on a 30-yard interception return and also on a 35-yard pass reception Friday against Oskaloosa.
Hammes has led the Bulldogs to four state titles since his arrival in 2013. But he said every season is different. Though he knows what it takes to get to the finish line, he said it’s hard to gauge where this team stands right now.
“It’s a hard comparison. I just know that every team has (its own) potential,” Hammes said. “What we try to do is bring every team to their fullest potential. It’s process-driven here. That’s been a buzzword for us. We’ve got to get into the process of getting better and the process of preparing, and the results will happen if we do that.
“I don’t know how to compare this team to other teams, but I know that this team has a good potential and we want to meet it.”
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