A team approach to athletic success keeps this Football Program running

The Power of One:

A team approach to athletic success keeps this football program winning Going into the first game of the 2008 football season, coach Jeff Erdmann had reason to worry. As Rosemount High School’s head football coach, he was starting a new quarterback who had been converted from wide receiver, an especially difficult challenge, as the Irish run a complex option offense. And their opponent was Lakeville South, who had beaten them in the Class 5A semifinal game in 2006. In this rematch Lakeville South led 14-10 with 42 seconds to go until Chase Vogler threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Zachary Vraa to squeeze out a victory. A rough start, but things would get easier for the Irish.

“Because we play option football, we usually get much better at executing Head football coach Jeff Erdmann as the season goes on, so this victory was a huge relief,” says Erdmann, who took over head coaching duties in 1999 at this 5A school in Rosemount, Minnesota. The Irish easily won their next three conference games, outscoring MARCH/APRIL 2009 their opponents 107-27. At that time the Irish were feeling pretty good about themselves, and they had reason to because they were 4-0 and ranked fifth in the state. Then came the Hopkins Royals, a nonconference opponent ranked seventh in the state, with the high-scoring offense that had racked up 144 points in the first four games.

The two teams went into halftime tied at 7 each, but Hopkins never looked back on this one, their homecoming game, and went on to gain 384 yards and win the game 34-21. Rosemount only gained 197 yards and committed four turnovers, which Erdmann said was one of the key factors in their loss. Looking back, Erdmann reflects that the defeat turned out to be a positive. “That loss against Hopkins was a great learning experience for us because we didn’t play hard – our players could see that on the film – and that’s one of the aspects of the game we really stress,” says Erdmann.

“We had been feeling that we were pretty good, and this game made us realize that if we don’t come to work every day, that can happen.” Their new commitment to hard work resulted in finishing out the regular season with three dominating victories – 35-7, 24-7, 40-7 – and a 7-0 conference record headed into the playoffs. The section playoffs saw the Irish continue their momentum as they won their first two games, outscoring their opponents 61 to 7, and then facing Eastview for the section championships.

Section 3AAAAA Champions!

In that matchup senior Jack Pauly set the tone of the game when he returned the opening kickoff 96 yards for six points. With a 33-10 victory, Rosemount won their eighth straight game and moved up to the state quarterfinals against Mounds View and their 8-2 record. Although Mounds View was known for thier stout defense, it was Rosemount’s defense that helped secure the victory – the Irish won that game 12-0. Next was the state semifinals against the undefeated Wayzata Trojans, who had outscored their opponents 143-32 in their four playoff games. Rosemount fell, 10-34, and Wayzata went on to win the state championships.

But Erdmann says getting this far was a great accomplishment for his Irish and the experience has been invaluable. “It’s a huge advantage for our team to go deep into the playoffs because it gives us more experience and enables us to give younger athletes more practice time with the varsity,” says Erdmann. He’s looking forward to next year, as his tenth-grade team tied for the conference title, going 8-1, and his ninthgrade team went undefeated, 8-0. “Everyone is working hard, especially in the weightroom.” He adds that the eighth graders in the middle schools that feed into Rosemount use the BFS Readiness program to get a head start on their weight training.

Regarding the BFS connection, in 2002 Rick Bojak came to Rosemount to do a BFS clinic and a Be an 11; however, Erdmann says that it’s only been in the past few years that they have seriously dedicated themselves to the program. “It all came down to the record keeping,” says Erdmann, “because we had been slack in the past with requiring the players to have their workouts. We got rededicated to the BFS program, and our results have been fantastic!”

Game Day!

Rosemount’s motto is “Glory is achieved when the many come together to form that which is invincible,” which comes from the movie The Power of One. For example, at games the Irish football team and coaches are introduced as one unit, and the players are not allowed to wear headbands, doo rags, wristbands or other accessories that draw individual attention to themselves. Even more important is the work ethic the team displays. “We’ve gotten to the point at Rosemount that our kids know that if they do what the previous kids have done and work as a team, good things will happen!”

From left to right: Nich Ambrus, Ryan Link, Zach Berkebile A rededication to the BFS program was a key factor in the success of Rosemount football.

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From BFS Magazine — March/April 2009. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).