Becoming only the second team in school history to reach double-digit victories last season was a nice achievement for the Streetsboro Rockets’ football team but Coach Pete Thompson said his squad still has some unfinished business.
“It is an experienced bunch so our expectations are high for them but they are still kids and we have to see,” Thompson told The Weekly Villager on Aug. 8. “We have had pads on for a week and we will have a better understanding through scrimmages of what we can be. We are certainly not a finished product, but we certainly have high expectations coming off of last season.”
The Rockets return 16 lettermen, including seven offensive starters and nine defensive starters, as they seek to build off of one of the most successful seasons in program history. It marks the first time since the 2020 season that the Rockets bring back so much experience.
Although the Rockets return as an experienced group, the departures that occurred were significant including the graduation of wide receiver/tailback Preston Hopperton, who set two new school records last year with the most receiving and rushing touchdowns in a single season.
For Thompson, bringing back experience every season is something he strives for dating back to his coaching days with Portage County rival Crestwood.
“That is the goal,” said the eight-year coach. “As you are working your way through a season, you want to have kids prepared for their future as well so last year we had a decent mix of underclassmen actually playing for us.”
Streetsboro’s postseason push will be more challenging this season, with reigning Division V state champion Perry moving into Division IV and 2022 Division IV state champion Glenville being assigned to the same region.
“We are cognizant of that and we are aware of that and we better take care of week one and look at what is on your schedule before you start to worry about who is in your region and playoffs and stuff like that so we will cross the bridge when we get there,” Thompson said.
Senior quarterback Cohen Klimak will once again lead the offense, returning after completing 73 passes in 111 attempts for 1395 yards and 18 touchdowns while also rushing for 1400 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“To me that is an amazing story, I don’t know if we expected Cohen to do as well as he did but we did not have any expectations for Cohen as a first-year quarterback because he had never done it before,” noted Thompson of the 5-foot-9 senior. “He has put on about 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and has bulked up and his arm strength and speed have all improved.”
Junior Janiere Cook will be the Rockets’ primary tailback, having rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns last year.
Although Hopperton is now playing football at Kent State University, Thompson said the Rockets still possess a ton of talent at the skill positions. Joining Cook as running backs will be sophomore Marcus Council, Jr., who transferred to Streetsboro this summer after playing at Akron Archbishop Hoban last season.
Leading the wide receivers will be senior Jackson Gula, who caught 15 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Streetsboro’s defensive scheme will be anchored by Klimak and Gula, who each play safety. Last season saw Gula make 55 tackles including 2 tackles for losses while also record three interceptions and Klimak tallied 43 tackles, 8 for losses and total two interceptions.
“Two of our three safeties are four-year starters so it starts with them and then we have three linebackers coming back who all started games for us last year,” Thompsons said of the 6-foot-1 Gula. “We base it out of a three front but we have five or maybe six defensive linemen that started at least one game for us last year on the defensive side of the ball.”
Thompson said that the Rockets’ defense did not really find their identity until the middle of last season but with so much talent returning this year, Streetsboro’s defense is ready to hit the ground running.
“We grew and morphed into a good defense throughout the year last year,” Thompson added. “We used multiple fronts in the beginning of the year and tried to develop an identity somewhere around midseason. We found some kids that we did not think at the beginning of the season were defensive players and they went into the lineup but we morphed into a 3-3 stat defense and rode that wave throughout last season.”
The Rockets’ season will begin when they welcome Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy to Rockets Stadium’s Quinn Field on Aug. 23 at 7 p.m.
