Rockets great up for new season

The summer has come and gone, and yes, it really did happen that fast.

Schools are preparing for class, kids are salvaging their last days of freedom and parents are filling their backpacks with supplies they'll soon need.

All this can only mean one thing: Football season is finally back!

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets are gearing up for a tough season, and head coach Elliot Belquist has his players practicing hard to get ready.

"It's been pretty good," said Belquist on how practice is going so far. "... We're thin on juniors and seniors, but we've got a nice crew of freshmen and sophomores that are working hard, and we're really trying to pop guys into different spots so we're ready to go if someone goes down."

The team will only have two seniors and four juniors this season, requiring underclassmen to step up if the Rockets are to have any success in 2022. Belquist also recognized the size disadvantage they'll have to overcome, but noted an advantage that may help mitigate those challenges.

"We're really liking how fast we are," said Belquist. "We feel like ... we've really improved our sprinting and our running, and I think that's going to be a huge asset for us, just our team speed in general.

"We've needed to make a focus on that with how light we are up front," Belquist added. "We're not very big, so the things we're doing on offense really revolves around quick lineman and getting to the spot."

Last year, the Rockets ended their season with a positive regular season record of 5-3, and lost just one game within their region. Much of that success came thanks to a dominant run game, fueled by Kaden Jensen and Haydon Meier.

In many ways, Jensen and Meier were the engine that propelled NR-S to five consecutive victories in 2021. However, Jensen has since graduated and is undoubtedly busy preparing for his first year of college at the University of Jamestown.

Nevertheless, Belquist still believes they can use their speed advantage to continue hammering through a solid run game.

"We're going to have more of a run game, keep-hold-of-the-ball, stay-off-defense type offense," said Belquist.

One player that could contribute to that run game is Connor Knatterud. Last year, he began emerging as a decent addition to Meier and Jensen. His small stature and quick feet allowed him to sprint past defenders, and, on more than one occasion, break free for long runs down the field.

As for the team's quarterback situation, Belquist said they're not planning to have a primary shot caller this season.

"We have four guys that have been kind of working at it," said Belquist. "... We're really comfortable putting each one of them in, and with running this style offense they're going to be hit a little more, so we need to have those people ready."

Belquist added that Meier will play a major role as quarterback this year, but will also be relied upon in other positions.

"We want to play Haydon [Meier]," said Belquist. "He's really improved his sprinting and he looks fast on the field, so we need to get him into position to make plays, whether that's quarterback, full-back or wing-back.

"So we're working on having him play different spots," continued Belquist, "and that means another quarterback in, and Bennett [Meier], Luke [Yri] and Easton Simon all have been stepping up and proving they can run the offense."

This season undoubtedly has quite a few unknowns. Will the Rockets' speed be enough to outrun their opponents, or will their relative youth and small size prove too much to overcome?

The answer to that question and others will likely be answered following their first game, to be fought against the Chargers of Nelson County, who beat out the Rockets last season to become Region 3 Champions. That game will be played in McVille on Friday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.

The Chargers, however, are no longer regional opponents. The Rockets have moved to Region 4, bringing with them Four Winds, Benson County, and North Star - all regional opponents from 2021. The Rockets' only new regional opponent this year are the North Prairie Cougars.

The Rockets' first home game isn't scheduled until Friday, Aug. 26 against North Border at 7 p.m.