Mission's Work Horse

By Jenna Cederberg / Leader staff

According to his own calculations, Jordan Rohrich has run for 470 yards and seven touchdowns so far this year.

The little piece of paper Rohrich uses to record his runs and scores and personal success on the field is unofficial in exact calculation, but its what Rohrich's way of making sure he reaches his own goal - to have the best season of his 4-year stint as an everything man for the Mission Bulldogs.

The six-foot-one, 200 lb. senior plays running back and doubles as a linebacker on defense with a simple style the doesn't include any rituals or superstitions, just hard work. In the team's 20-12 loss at Troy this past weekend, Rohrich had 170 yards on 23 carries, including one touchdown run. The impressive number is only average for Rohrich, who has technically already bested himself in the team's first four games.

On the unofficial though accurate paper, Rohrich forgets to even mention his defensive achievements, an average of 17 tackles a game, and focuses on stats for his favorite position of running back. He got the taste for just how good an offensive run can feel during his freshman year, when, although he wasn't a starter, he got in for a play against Plains and took off for a 50-yard run.

"When I was a freshman, I ran a pretty cool run. That was probably my favorite (moment)," he said.

His mother, Renee Sargent, remembers the jitters that came with the Rohrich's first time on the field.

"I think his freshman year he was a little nervous, it's kind of intimidating," she said. "After the first game he said, 'd4Mom, that's the neatest things I've ever done.'"

He got out and kept doing it, finding himself a team leader four years later.

"If you want something you never had, you have to do something you never done. That's a cool phrase," Rohrich said of the advice first-year head coach Pete Hamilton gave the team and the mindset he has taken on this year. He started keeping track of his individual stats and kept dominating on the field, and has already led the team to its best start since he's been a Bulldog.

The team topped its tallies in the win column after just the second game of the season with a 26-6 win over Darby. Rohrich had three touchdowns and more than 186 yards rushing in the game. The Bulldogs are 0-1, 2-2 after the loss to Troy.

Rohrich gives a lot of credit to this year's coaching staff for coming in with an attitude that focuses on wanting to win. Dreading the thought of going 1-7 for yet another year isn't something a player wants to come into his senior worrying about, and Rohrich said the way the coaches think is contagious for the entire team, helping them to believe in one another.

"Anyone else could have scored the three touchdowns too, they just gave me the ball. Instead of (senior) Lynn (Birthmark) or Justin (Evans). They could have easily had those," Rohrich said about his performance on Sept. 12.

For a kid who started his freshman wrestling career at 140 lbs., he can't ignore his growth spurts as a factor in helping him come to excel on the field. And his coaches and mother say what he won't, that his personal work ethic is what has gotten him where he is.

"(Jordan's) a work horse, and he's a guy that wants to win," Hamilton said. "I've been around a lot of kids that play football hard. His mission is to go to the next level." "He's more of an example leader than anything vocally. But with his work ethic in the weight room and on the field, kids want to follow that. He's more of a doer."

Sargent said that although you might no always know what Rohrich is thinking, his actions and personal work ethic always speak loudly.

"He's very determined and very dedicated. He has a big heart when it comes to sports," Sargent said. "He's not an emotional kid, he's pretty quiet. He wants to be successful at the things he does."

Hamilton said these attributes will help Rohrich be able to reach the next level and compete somewhere on a college team. Rohrich has begun the process of making a skills tape and hopes to get some recruits in the stands to watch him play. This past weekend he got invited to Bozeman to watch Montana State University's game against South Dakota. A trip down the valley for a similar trip is another trip Rohrich is hoping to make.

"(The University of) Montana for sure, that would be the coolest thing ever. That is my dream," Rohrich said.

The game this week will present Rohrich with the opportunity to reach yet another goal - giving the fans a win to help celebrate Homecoming when Eureka comes to town. Hamilton thinks his team can win, and it seems like if Rohrich keeps doing what he does, reaching his goals seems to follow.

No doubt he'll have another impressive batch of stats to jot down on his piece of paper.}