‘We’re changing it in a big way:’ Rock Falls looks to build winning culture after long playoff drought, stretch of losing seasons

ROCK FALLS – After a 1-8 season and ninth-place finish in the Big Northern Conference in 2021, the Rock Falls Rockets had every reason to throw in the towel and slack on their offseason workouts.

But with new talent coming in and an experienced sophomore class, they’re as motivated as ever to end their streak of losing seasons and try to build a winning culture.

“We’re trying to start changing the Rock Falls culture, and we’re changing it in a big way,” junior RB/S Kohle Bradley said. “The conditioning’s changed, I think a lot in this program is going to change, and a lot of the new teams are going to see that this year.”

From summer camp drills and the first few practices, coach Kevin Parker likes what he’s seen. So far, he’s been especially impressed in two key areas.

“We’re real young, but our effort is very high. Lots of kids doing extras, kids catching on quickly. We’re doing some new things this year and very impressed with the mental toughness,” Parker said. “When we get to areas of conditioning and we start challenging them and they run into issues, they find a way to fight through things. So our resiliency is good. And I think we’ve had a great start to the season.”

With a younger team this year, senior WR/DB Colin Cook sees a lot of potential for growth.

“I think we’re a very young team, but we have a lot of upside to us. We’ve got a lot of good positions this season,” he said. “We have a lot of good freshman this year, so we added a lot of new people with a lot of seniors graduating.”

The incoming freshman class should provide some much-needed depth, while the core of this year’s team is comprised largely of sophomores.

Bradley has already taken notice of a few newcomers, but sees improvement from his team across the board.

“I think we’ve got Adan [Oquendo]. He’s pretty quick. I think we’re going to use him well. Easton [Canales], our new QB for varsity, he’s improved a lot this year. I like what I see with him coming up,” he said. “A lot of our linemen that were on JV last year are coming up. We’ve got Hunter Gale, he’s improved. Jacob Hosler’s improved. I’ve just seen really big improvements from everyone.”

Parker expects good things from the sophomores who started last year, and from seniors joining the program this season.

“We’ve got a couple seniors – one that returned to the program as a senior, James Schmitt, and then Brady Dowd is a wrestler that is now playing as a senior, so we’re excited to have him,” Parker said. “A lot of our sophomore kids that are starting, they actually started as freshmen, a couple of them. But with a year of growth, our offensive tackles right now, with Hunter Gale and Jacob Hosler, are looking very good because they put the time in in the offseason. So seeing them from being a freshman, scared to be on the field, to having a year of lifting in and strong and ready to go, those are guys that come to mind for me.”

One of the biggest challenges for Rock Falls this year will be replacing the leadership and production of RB/LB Booker Cross, a Big Northern Conference first team selection on defense last year.

“Booker Cross was one of the better players in the conference, and even in the area,” Parker said. “And his enthusiasm and being a great example of a young man and his leadership is going to be sorely missed.”

This year’s BNC looks as competitive as any year, with Byron standing out from the rest of the teams as the reigning Class 3A state champion after going undefeated in 2021. Stillman Valley and Genoa-Kingston could also be formidable, and Dixon and North Boone should factor in as competitive, playoff-qualifying teams from last year.

Parker knows his team won’t be able to let up for any given week.

“The schedule’s a beast. It’s very difficult for any program to come in and try to gain traction inside this conference, but our guys don’t care. They’re going to go after it,” Parker said. “Week 1 with Rockford Christian, newer team in the program, we’re going to see where we’re at – and hopefully we play well there. And really the rest of them are almost the same. You don’t get a break. Even with Oregon, who was a team we played a close game with last year, they got a new, great coach coming in. There’s no breaths to be taken, you can’t take a rest; you run the gauntlet in this conference, and there’s just no way around it.”

The Rockets will be counting heavily on their sophomore class to take the next step this year, but senior leadership will also be an important factor.

“[The keys to our success] would be how our young guys – especially our sophomore class – how well they play for not having a ton of experience, as well as our seniors stepping up from their junior to their senior year and setting the tone for everybody,” Parker said. “Are they going to go out and go get ‘em, or are they going to sit back and be reserved?”

Offensive and defensive line play will also be crucial, Cook said.

“Keys to success – probably the line. The line’s a big thing here,” he said. “If the line does their job, then we’re good. But if they don’t, it’s going to be a long season.”

Bradley sees a few other critical factors.

“Discipline and effort. Keeping our heads up when something goes wrong. Not trying to put each other down,” he said. That’s going to be a huge factor. I know in the past years, we’ve had a lot of people that have tried to put the team down, and we’ve gotten rid of those people, and all I see is improvement from here on out.”

Rock Falls will play its season opener at Rockford Christian on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m., then host Stillman Valley in the home opener in Week 2.