Rory Rosenbach has built a well-oiled machine on the hill overlooking the Snohomish valley.
Since coming to Glacier Peak five years ago, Rosenbach, a Snohomish alum, has taken the Grizzlies to the playoffs all four years, including last year when GP gave eventual champion Bellevue a run for its money in the first round of the 3A state tournament.
“It’s the longest I’ve ever been anywhere,” said Rosenbach after the first session of Wednesday’s first day of practices. “It’s fun. Five years is when I hoped to have everything dialed (in) and I feel we got there a little bit early because I got lucky with some staff situations and some good groups of kids. But I just feel like we’re relatively organized and the kids know what to expect.”
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What most everyone has come to expect is the Grizzlies don’t rebuild they reload. This season looks to be no different. With a strong senior class, including receivers Sean Elledge and Quinton Dunbar and quarterback Chris Becerra, Rosenbach has a solid nucleus returning from last year’s playoff team.
But one starting spot that is still up in the air is the center position. Three juniors — Logan Holleman, Nolan Dale and Nick Hensley — are battling for the right to start Week 1 against Lake Stevens, a competition that Rosenbach equated to the Seahawks quarterback battle.
“They do all of our front calls and point calls,” Rosenbach said of the center position in the Glacier Peak offense. “They do the cadence the majority of the time as well. It’s a huge spot for us.”
Overall Glacier Peak’s offensive line is rich in experience. Four seniors, including left tackle Nate Sandstrom, have sewn up the tackle and guard positions, which could make it even tougher for a young player to be the quarterback of the line.
“It’s got to be a guy that the other guys will listen to,” Rosenbach said. “Which when you have four seniors around you and you’re an underclassmen that can sometimes be a challenge. You have to have a little bit of a personality that they’ll listen to. And you can’t be timid; you’ve got to be able to be like ‘Hey, shut up.”
If history is any inclination the winner will be able to fit right in and Glacier Peak won’t miss a beat.
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