Guard-turned-fullback Chris Rojas is one reason that Bruton still clings to slim Division 3 playoff hopes.
Chris Rojas played in football purgatory last year, getting down and dirty and beat around. Such is the life of an under-appreciated offensive lineman. But that humbling experience is part of why he’s one of the Bay Rivers District’s best running backs.
Rojas is the starting fullback for Bruton, a team still clinging to hopes of making the Region I, Division 3 playoffs. The Panthers opened their season 5-1, then lost their last two. They visit undefeated Lafayette tonight and close the regular season at home next weekend against New Kent.
Bruton must go 7-3 to have a chance to reach the playoffs, and even that might not be enough. York and Poquoson are in better position to advance from the Bay Rivers, as is Greensville of the Southside District. Even though Nandua of the Eastern Shore has an abysmal power rating, that district must send a team, no matter how many Region I, D-3 teams have far better records.
“We have to win our last two games,” Bruton coach Kyle Neve said Wednesday. “We can’t count on anybody helping us.”
Regardless of what happens, Neve already has a solid base for next year. Quarterback Mark Tyler and running back Andre Parrott are sophomores. Rojas and fellow running back Adam Chalkley are juniors. Neve’s major task for 2005 will be replacing veteran offensive and defensive linemen to support the returning backfield.
Rojas has been among Bruton’s most pleasant surprises. He had never run with the football until carrying it 21 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns in the season-opener against Jamestown. Through seven games he’s gained 720 yards and scored nine touchdowns on 123 carries. So why was he a lineman last year?
“Because we needed him more as an offensive lineman,” Neve said. “He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid with a strong football personality, so we knew he’d eventually be our fullback. We told him that last year, told him fullback would be his.”
Rojas spent his sophomore season blocking for Parrott and JMU-bound senior Marcus Haywood. Rojas was running outdoor track in the spring when Neve told him the staff planned to move him to fullback this year.
“They told me the first day of practice to go with the running backs,” Rojas said. “I didn’t mind playing guard last year because that’s where they needed me. But I was excited when they said I’d be the fullback this year.”
Rojas averaged slightly more than 100 yards the first four games and about 80 in the last four. He has scored at least one touchdown in six of the Panthers’ first eight games. He said his experience at guard taught him a thing or two about fullback.
“I know that linemen sometimes get caught up in things and can’t make the block they want to make,” he said. “That means the runner has to adjust, like runners did behind me last year. In a way, playing the line helped make me a better runner.”
As for those defenders who had never heard of Bruton’s young backfield until this season, “I liked that nobody in the district knew anything about us,” Rojas said. “I liked the idea that early in the season people were saying, ‘Who are those guys?’ I think they know us now.” *
