The 5th & 6th grade Rangers of Roland Youth League football capped off a perfect 9-0 season on Saturday, October 28th, in Wilburton, OK, with a 20-6 Super Bowl victory over the Atoka Wampus Cats.
The Rangers, coached by Rocky Price, Anthony Dewitt, Josh Peters, and high school coach Richard Pratt, started the season strong and never looked back.
Quarterback Brock Streun, a quiet commander-in-chief on the field, led the Rangers into each game with the confidence needed to line up each opponent, and send them right back down the road.
Behind Streun, the Rangers were powered on offense by the explosive speed of wide receivers Kejaun Youngblood, Parker Pratt, Dakota Price, and Cole Stephens. On the ground, first year Ranger Ashton Peters provided a bulldozer type effect any time he touched the ball.
Peters, a 5-foot 8-inch, 160 lb sixth grader, seemed to be the icing on the cake for the upperclassmen of Roland Elementary this season. He joined "The Voice of the Rangers", Clint Davis, on the Ranger Football Podcast before the start of the season. Ashton stated he was happy to be a new Ranger and he was glad to play with a strong group of friends. He also said bringing home a championship ring was his ultimate goal for the season, and that's exactly what the team did this past weekend.
Not only did the Rangers have an explosive offense. They were also backed by a starting defense that gave up zero points all season, until the first quarter of the championship game. Notable Rangers on the defensive side include Parker Pratt, Billy McElhaney, Michael Taylor, Logen Dow, and John Greschke, among the 21 other Rangers who suited up this year.
When asked about his defense in Week 7, head coach Rocky Price said "I've never seen a youth league group of young men with this much power and speed. I've never seen a youth league group of young men who want to win as badly as these guys do. It lets me know work ethic is still strong at Roland School, and we're raising teachable kids. That's what will win championships."
When asked his thoughts about the success of this season, 6th grade coach, and Roland Youth League Football Director, Anthony Dewitt stated the following:
"It was an amazing season! The boys have been working super hard for the last few seasons and we finally put everything together this year! One of the things we stressed as coaches this season was “focus." Focus on your team, focus on your grades, focus on the little things! I’ve never coached a group of kids who had the desire to compete the way these boys do, and I personally believe the sky is limit for this group of kids! We are very excited to see what their young futures hold!"
Roland Youth League Football now enters its 2017-2018 off-season, and will look to pick back up next year in championship form.