ROCHESTER — It’s the same story every fall.
How will the Rochester High School football team replace 1,000-yard fullbacks? It can’t be that easy, can it? Surely, they won’t have the pieces to run the Power-T successfully again, will they?
Same story. Same questions. Same results.
It’s the Warriors DNA to replenish their backfield year in and year out. It was Braden Hartley and Brady Baird four years ago, then Tate Quarnstrom came in and rushed for 1,127 yards in 2023. Ethan Rodriguez took over the next two years – and had some help from Xander Peterman (‘24) and Maddox Rodgers (‘25) – to be a two-time Evergreen League MVP.
Rinse and repeat.
“It is a revolving door and we’ve done it enough years now, we have started to build those backs,” Warriors head coach AJ Easley said. “We have the opportunity to rotate guys.”
So as Rochester prepares to capture a second league title in three years, wash off the stench of a Round of 12 heartbreaker to Omak in the Class 1A playoffs and integrate a rising sophomore class into the fold, it hasn’t lost an ounce of confidence.
A key factor is its senior class, one that wasn’t circled to be a memorable one. Yet the 12 guys that remained have been through the ringer and now usher in one final year together.
“Majority of my class, we’ve been playing varsity since freshman year,” Rodgers said. “We got the playing level down.”
“I feel like we’ve worked to where we’ve gotten,” defensive lineman Josh Long added. “We’re still good; we’re getting better one day at a time.”
With Rodriguez now at Idaho and Peterman graduated, it’ll be Rodgers as the potential lead back after a season that included 1,405 yards on 10 yards a carry and 14 touchdowns. He had eight games of 100-plus yards on the ground and finished with 141 carries.
Stats are one thing. Rodgers has eyes on the overall MVP award and getting Rochester back to the state tournament.
“The team will help me do it,” he said.
Owen Simpkins will get more touches this season as will Jackson Allman, who was a first team all-league offensive lineman a year ago. It’s not the first time Easley has seen a lineman convert to the backfield.
Still, it came as a surprise. The Warriors were already replacing stalwarts Wyatt Dahl and Stanton Smith, plus they have a new OL coach in former Elma head coach Larry Raynes.
“If you want to play on Friday night, it is going to have to be at guard,” Easley said. “That helps you build that depth.”
When Rochester went up to the Linfield camp this summer, it wasn’t until the end when Allman got some run in at tailback. He took off for a 30-yard gain on one play. His actions spoke volumes.
“He’s super strong and athletic,” returning quarterback Easton Singleton said.
Several starters are back on defense, paced by Long, Rodgers and Simpkins. Long recorded a team-best 10 tackles for loss while Rodgers was the Co-Defensive MVP of the league. Other guys expected to contribute are Marshall Turnquist at linebacker, Owen Driver in the secondary and Tanner Eaton plus Wyatt Richardson on the d-line.
Six guys are back as two-way starters.
The Warriors let up 35 points to Aberdeen in Week 3, but held everyone else relatively in check throughout the regular season. What doomed them in losses to Montesano and Omak was the gas tank running on empty.
And fourth quarter turnovers.
“If we keep working hard and take it day-by-day, we can do it,” Long said. “We’ve been getting into the new groove of things.”
Rochester’s non-league slate features three straight games against 2A foes Washougal, Bremerton and Ellensburg. Two of their toughest games in league play happen in back-to-back weeks at Tenino then hosting Montesano.
The last two years have featured mixed feelings. In 2024, the Warriors dethroned the Bulldogs in the rain and mud before getting blasted in the Scatter Creek Showdown. Last season, Montesano prevailed in a one-possession thriller and Rochester took out its anger on Tenino in a blowout.
“A big part of it is how close the team is, keeping the intensity up,” Rodgers said. “I’m sure a lot of people are going to doubt us.”
Rochester’s standards have raised to the point where the motivation is to accomplish more than the previous team. Easley scheduled out practices into Thanksgiving last fall, instilling that belief that a state semifinal was possible.
It came two wins shy of that destination. Can the ‘26 Warriors reach it?
“We’re gonna have to want it more,” Singleton said. “We’re looking forward to proving people wrong.”
