Veterans lead Rosalia into 8-man quest

The Rosalia Spartans, assembling an eight-man football team for this fall, are no longer part of the Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia combination which finished in 2012 with a playoff loss to state champion Lind-Ritzville-Sprague.

Kaleb Madison, coach of last year’s TOR team, will lead Rosalia’s solo venture.

“It’s been a transition for the players,” he said. “But the great thing about it is that they’re fast and they’re smart.”

Madison went on to say that while the eight-man game is a little different, it’s also much the same.

“The way the players look at it, it’s all blocking, it’s all running,” said Madison. “The field is open more, but it’s open more for us too.”

Leading the Spartans will be three returning third-year Rosalia players who were starters for last year’s successful Nighthawk run.

Senior Ryan Maley returns as quarterback and safety along with senior running back/linebackers Craig Nelson and Clay Shelton.

Shelton started as linebacker the past two seasons and filled in as running back last year after Steven Maley injured his knee and was out for the year.

In addition, Madison said, the team brings back two key lineman in senior Jason Brown and junior Lucas Engle.

Steven Maley re-injured his knee this spring and is not expected to be able to play his last season.

New players which should see a lot of action this year include senior wide receiver Cory Brown, junior offensive lineman Anthony Riles and sophomore tight end Eli Richardson.

The total roster has 20 players on it.

The coach and assistant Chad Shelton spent the offseason researching the eight-man game.

“In almost each position, it feels like there’s one less player (on the field),” Madison said.

The new Rosalia team will play an independent schedule which will include schools from Cove, Ore., to Tahola, Wash. If the Spartans win 40 percent of their games, they will enter the Southeast District 9 playoffs in the fourth-place spot.

Rosalia, which emerged too late to get on the SE Eights league schedules, figures to top the local teams in the miles category this year.

Their first game at Cove, near LaGrande, Sept. 6 will be in a familiar place. This summer, 11 players and Madison went to football camp there put on by the staff of Eastern Oregon University.

Madison, originally from Moreno Valley, Calif., played tight end for Northern Arizona University.

He said he’s watching for a particular thing as his new team practices.

“One of our main goals, we measure our effort based on how far you are from the ball when it is down,” he said. “We want to surround the football.”

Overall, the coach said his players are ready and responding.

“They’re pretty hungry too,” Madison said. “They want to get after it, get back into the playoffs and to the promised land.”