Earlier this summer, Rouggly was promoted by the R-7 school district to replace Jason Dreyer as activities director/director of student services. The move came too late to find a new head football coach for the 2021 season, so Rouggly said he’ll coach the Blue Jays for one more campaign.
That means the Jefferson assistant coaches interested in succeeding him will be auditioning for the job in every practice and game this fall. The school district will conduct a search and hire a new head coach immediately after the season ends.
Rouggly had this year’s seniors over for a barbecue the last week of camp to share ideas and team goals.
“I’ll never say I’m never going to coach a football game again,” said Rouggly, who has a career record of 43-22 at Jefferson. “I don’t know if I’m done coaching track (and field) either. I love that sport too. I try not to externalize that it’s my last year.”
Jefferson’s remarkable 2020 season didn’t end until after Thanksgiving, when the Blue Jays lost to Lamar 42-7 in the Class 2 state semifinals. The Tigers beat St. Pius X (Kansas City) 6-3 a week later to win their eighth state crown. It was Jefferson’s best season ever, finishing 9-3 and sweeping through District 1 and the quarterfinals by a combined score of 139-33.
But a tightly-knit group of players graduated in the spring. Colby Ott, Dylan Schnitzler and Will Schnitzler took 52 touchdowns and most of the starting offensive talent with them.
“You can’t replace those kids and the year that they had,” Rouggly said. “What they did (in the postseason) hasn’t happened in Jefferson County in a long time.
“We’ve got 45 kids in the weight room working to get better. I believe when this team creates its own identity, some really good things are going to happen. They have to understand they don’t need to be a Colby Ott, Dylan Schnitzler, Dawson Jakoubek, Steve Stephens or Ethan Deal. They need to work for themselves and their teammates.”
Despite all of their personnel losses, the Blue Jays return senior quarterback Drew Breeze, who was under center in all 12 games last year, passing for 901 yards and 10 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. His twin brother, Will, is moving from wide receiver to running back. Junior Sean Usery carried the ball 42 times for 215 yards (5.1 yards per carry) last year and will move into a starting RB role.
“They can get the job done, but it’s definitely going to be a learning curve,” Drew Breeze said. “It doesn’t matter about the new faces. We’ve got each other’s backs. That can go a really long way.
“We need to get the ball to the outside. We’ve got more receivers this year. We’ve got guys who can go get the ball and a line that can hold up really well. I’m positive we can put points up easily throwing the ball and keeping the running package.”
Rouggly said Breeze is a natural leader at QB with a lot of football smarts.
“He understands the game and studies it all the time,” Rouggly said. “He’s a leader on offense, defense and special teams. He can bring out the best in a lot of people and I firmly believe he’s going to do that this year.”
The rest of the backfield will feature senior Robbie Hurley at fullback and junior halfbacks Dylan Travica (6-2, 200 pounds), Kayden Rundel and Gavin Theodoro.
Breeze’s top target on the outside is senior Colton Richardson (6-4, 225), a hybrid tight end/receiver who led the Blue Jay basketball team in rebounding last year. Richardson averaged 20 yards on six receptions last year.
“He’ll play with his hand in the ground or come out of a two-point stance to take advantage of some mismatches,” Rouggly said.
“It’s going to be fun running jump-ball plays with him,” Drew Breeze said. “He’s so big and powerful, you have to throw the ball to him. We were playing New Madrid (County Central) and he was carrying about five or six guys on his back. He’s like a pack horse, he just keeps going.”
Also lining up wide are Drew’s younger brother, sophomore Nate Breeze (6-2, 180), senior Chase Politte and sophomore Cole Williams.
“We’ve got the nucleus and depth to get the ball to some people,” Rouggly said.
As for the offensive line, junior Mason Campbell played center last year and has moved to guard. Junior Konnor Armstrong was the starting right guard and is there again. Senior Jackson Combs came in late last year after dealing with a knee issue and was a starting defensive lineman as a sophomore. Combs started on the O-line against Duchesne in the 2020 quarterfinals and has worked into a starting job this year. Sophomore Clayton Fogelbach is the new center. Juniors Brady Sadler and Danny Lamkin and sophomore James Heberlie are vying for starting jobs on the line.
“We’ve got some girth and they all move well, but I don’t know if they’re (like) Ethan Deal,” Rouggly said. “James is 250 and Brady’s 250. Mason’s 245. Konnor’s sleek at 210 and Jackson and Danny are about 195. I think they’ll move extremely well. We’ve just got to get them mean. You have to be able to play that position successfully.”
Hurley learned a lot from graduated all-state standout Dawson Jakoubek and is back at inside linebacker, along with Richardson and sophomore Mike Frisk.
Ott and the Schnitzler cousins comprised three-fourths of the starting secondary last season and this year Politte, freshman Carson Hafner and sophomores Nate Breeze and Max Schnitzler, Will’s younger brother, form the defensive backfield.
“We have the depth, but we don’t have a lot of Friday-night-lights experience back there,” Rouggly said.
Will Breeze converted 41 extra points and booted a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of the quarterfinals last season, earning him all-state notice. He gives the Blue Jays what many prep teams lack: a near-automatic seventh point after a TD. Drew Breeze will do the punting again after averaging 30 yards per kick in 2020.
“I know what’s coming and how to prepare for it,” the QB said. “I know how to help my teammates who are new to it. The new guys aren’t used to playing under the Friday lights. I can help them and that will be like a chain reaction for years to come.”