Philomath High senior Rocco De La Rosa capped his dominant final season by earning Special District 3 Offensive Player of the Year honors, headlining a group of nine Warriors who earned all-conference football recognition at 14 positions.
De La Rosa, who also made the first team at wide receiver and as a return specialist while earning second-team honors at outside linebacker, showcased his versatility throughout the season for Philomath.
“I think it validates everything he’s done,” Warriors coach Alex Firth said. “We moved him around quite a bit — he played receiver and then he played in the backfield the last game of the year. He showed his versatility. I mean, he’s just dominant with a football in his hands. It’s pretty obvious that he’s flying around at a different level than most of the other kids around him.”
De La Rosa’s value to the team was exemplified in his final performance against Sweet Home when he scored all four of the team’s touchdowns and had 305 all-purpose yards.
He finished the season with 39 receptions for 629 yards and 11 touchdowns. On the defensive side, he led Class 4A with six interceptions.
“I could have put him down as a defensive back, too, because we moved him around — kind of the same thing on offense,” Firth said. “He’s one of those generational athletes that you can just put anywhere and he’ll have an impact.”
Senior CD Nuño joined De La Rosa as a first-team selection, earning the honor at outside linebacker while also making the second team at wide receiver. Nuño had 53 catches for 621 yards this season and also moved around within the offense.
“We didn’t necessarily put him in the backfield but we tried to involve him in the run game,” Firth said. “If we needed to, we could have put in the backfield and he would have been just as productive.”
Firth praised Nuño’s defensive versatility as well.
“We were pretty lucky this year to have two kids that I would consider generational — kids that don’t come around every year in your program,” Firth said. “CD, he played linebacker, he played defensive back … you could have put him up for all-league at either one of those positions and he would be on the first team.”
Junior Jamin Peters earned first-team recognition on the defensive line and second-team honors at offensive tackle. Peters finished the season with 16 tackles for loss, which tied for second statewide in Class 4A, along with three sacks.
“Overall, he’s just really dominant and for his size, he’s very athletic and a handful for an offensive lineman,” Firth said. “Most bigger kids aren’t as athletic as he is and so he creates a little bit more of a problem. He’s just hard to block. He’s got a motor, he’s strong and he does what you ask of him.”
Two other Warriors earned second-team honors — senior Josiah Peters at tight end and junior AJ Altishin at quarterback.
“Not many teams played a true hand-down tight end anymore; we were probably one of the handful of teams that did,” Firth said about Josiah Peters. “He’s big, he’s long and he’s an exceptional blocker. We didn’t get him the ball as much as we probably should have in the passing game but he made some incredible catches this year.”
Josiah Peters also was an honorable mention choice on the defensive line, finishing with three sacks.
Altishin completed 55.4% of his passes for 1,760 yards and 16 touchdowns. His passing yards total ranked first in the Special District 3 and third in Class 4A.
“You’ve got to get the ball to the guys who can run and we benefited with him getting the ball to Rocco and CD and Josiah and letting them do their thing,” Firth said.
Rounding out Philomath’s all-conference selections were four honorable mention choices — junior Lolo Tuiaki at offensive tackle, junior Gavin Bennett at outside linebacker, senior Lake Mulberry at inside linebacker and junior Kaden Howard at defensive back.
Despite losing De La Rosa and Nuño to graduation, Firth believes the Warriors will have a solid foundation returning next season.
“We’ve raised the bar a little bit but it speaks to the kids doing their work in the offseason and getting bigger and getting stronger,” Firth said. “A lot of those kids played almost every down and it just speaks to the kind of toughness that’s in the program. I think it bodes well for next season.”
Junction City’s Tye Rauschert was named Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to the conference championship. Junction City senior Connor Lloyd earned Lineman of the Year honors, while Marist Catholic senior Brody Buzzard was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Special District 3 All-Conference
Offensive Player of the Year — Rocco De La Rosa, Sr., Philomath
Defensive Player of the Year — Brody Buzzard, Sr., Marist Catholic
Lineman of the Year — Connor Lloyd, Sr., Junction City
Coach of the Year — Tye Rauschert, Junction City
First Team
OFFENSE
C — Brody Woods, Jr., Junction City
G — Gavin Tyler, Jr., Sweet Home; Cooper Kempf, Sr., Marist Catholic
T — Kaleb Moore, Sr., Junction City; Connor Lloyd, Sr., Junction City; Brody Buzzard, Sr., Marist Catholic
TE — Jackson Roderick, Sr., Junction City
SB — Dillan Davis, Sr., Sweet Home
QB — Eli Martin, Sr., Marist Catholic
WR — Rocco De La Rosa, Sr., Philomath; Gabe Dietmeyer, So., Marist Catholic; Sterling Holland, Jr., Crescent Valley
RB — Staton Barnes, Sr., Junction City; Connor Harvey, Jr., Marist Catholic; Jackson Skinner, Sr., Marist Catholic
DEFENSE
DL — Kellen Hartsook, Jr., Sweet Home; Zeph Caze, Sr., Crescent Valley; Jamin Peters, Jr., Philomath; Cooper Kempf, Sr., Marist Catholic; Connor Lloyd, Sr., Junction City; Logen Bourne, Sr., Junction City
OLB — Jackson Roderick, Sr., Junction City; Jackson Skinner, Sr., Marist Catholic; CD Nuño, Sr., Philomath
ILB — Luke Rosa, Sr., Sweet Home; Brody Buzzard, Sr., Marist Catholic; Sawyer Whitney, Jr., Marist Catholic
DB — Aidan Miller, Jr., Marist Catholic; Dillan Davis, Sr., Sweet Home; Staton Barnes, Sr., Junction City
SPECIAL TEAMS
RET — Rocco De La Rosa, Sr., Philomath
P — CJ Jones, Jr., Marist Catholic
K — Kellen Fitzpatrick, Sr., Marist Catholic
Second Team
OFFENSE
C — Zachary Woolley, So., Crescent Valley
G — Levi Seumalo, So., Crescent Valley; Carson Wood, Sr., Junction City
T — Lynkin Royer, Sr., Sweet Home; Jamin Peters, Jr., Philomath
TE — Josiah Peters, Sr., Philomath
SB — Madix Waldrop, Jr., Junction City
QB — AJ Altishin, Jr., Philomath; Kaden Shafer, Sr., Junction City
WR — CD Nuño, Sr., Philomath; Grady Hazen, Jr., Marist Catholic; Eli Adler, Sr., Crescent Valley
RB — Gabe Pannebaker, Jr., Crescent Valley; Sam Barringer, So., Sweet Home
DEFENSE
DL — Gavin Tyler, Jr., Sweet Home; Aidan Brasmer, Jr., Crescent Valley; Griffin Cheney, So., Marist Catholic; Kai Hartsock, Sr., Marist Catholic; Kaleb Moore, Sr., Junction City
OLB — Max Brawner, Jr., Junction City; Rocco De La Rosa, Sr., Philomath; Mason Bixby, Jr., Crescent Valley; Elliot Bayless, So., Crescent Valley
ILB — Landon Van Hecke, Jr., Junction City; Jacoby Jones, Jr., Crescent Valley; Wyatt Campbell, Fr., Crescent Valley
DB — Cade May, Sr., Cottage Grove; Eli Adler, Sr., Crescent Valley; Madix Waldrop, Jr., Junction City
SPECIAL TEAMS
RET — Staton Barnes, Sr., Junction City
P — Bode Nichols, Sr., Sweet Home
K — Landon Van Hecke, Jr., Junction City
Honorable Mention
OFFENSE
C — Wynn Kokkeler, So., Marist Catholic; Johnny Reilly, Sr., Cottage Grove
G — Julian Jones, Fr., Crescent Valley; Kai Hartsock, Sr., Marist Catholic; Caleb Reyes, Sr., Junction City; Gabriel Meadors, Sr., Sweet Home
T — Jack Carlson, Jr., Marist Catholic; Eli Cruz, So., Sweet Home; Lolo Tuiaki, Jr., Philomath; Grant Mitchell, So., Crescent Valley; Nikolas Gdontakis-Pos, Jr., Crescent Valley
QB — Ryan Williams, Fr., Crescent Valley
WR — Bode Nichols, Sr., Sweet Home; Dushawn Stephens, So., Crescent Valley
Note: There were no honorable mention selections at tight end, slotback or running back.
DEFENSE
DL — Blake Mitchell, Fr., Crescent Valley; Josiah Peters, Sr., Philomath; Josiah Clark, Sr., Cottage Grove
OLB — Gavin Bennett, Jr., Philomath; Bode Nichols, Sr., Sweet Home
ILB — Lake Mulberry, Sr., Philomath
DB — Grady Hazen, Jr., Marist Catholic; CJ Giustina, Sr., Marist Catholic; Kaden Howard, Jr., Philomath; Sterling Holland, Jr., Crescent Valley; Gabe Pannebaker, Jr., Crescent Valley; Dushawn Stephens, So., Crescent Valley; Bradyn McClure, Jr., Sweet Home; Gabe Dietmeyer, So., Marist Catholic; Zaidensen Dodson, Jr., Junction City; Cole Tracer, Sr., Junction City
SPECIAL TEAMS
RET — Grady Hazen, Jr., Marist Catholic; Dushawn Stephens, So., Crescent Valley
P — Kaleb Moore, Sr., Junction City; Cole Lehman, Jr., Crescent Valley
K — Simon Patel, Sr., Crescent Valley; Keeghan Gittens, Sr., Sweet Home
