RCW is revved up for the season

RCW junior Adam Schrupp (3) high-fives teammates during pre-game intros during a 9-Man South West game against Mountain Lake in Danube.

Experienced Jaguars aim for a long state playoff run

BY TOM ELLIOTT | West Central Tribune

DANUBE —It’s not a mistake to say there is some well-placed enthusiasm about the 2022 season for Renville County West.

The Jaguars return nearly the entire starting nine intact and are aiming for their third section championship in four years. It’d be four in four years except the 2020 team saw its season end with a 6-0 record when the playoffs were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

They were 11-1 in 2019, 6-0 in ‘20 and 8-4 last year.

The best news? Eight of nine starters return on offense. On defense, its nine out of nine. “We’re actually sitting pretty good,” said head coach Ryan Hebrink, who has 11 seniors, 10 juniors, nine sophomores and five freshmen on his varsity team. “We feel good about where we’re at.”

Where they’re at is likely one of the top nine-man teams in the state.

One of the only players of note gone is Tyler Amsden.

On offense, quarterback AJ Gasca, running backs Jasen Jansen and Jack Wertish, wide receivers Isaac Haen and Adam Schrupp, guards Noah Gullickson and Carter Rice and center Carter Rice are all back.

“The big thing for us is we can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done,” Hebrink said. “The team has had some success. We’ve made the quarterfinals. What does it take to get past that and play in US Bank Stadium?”

Defensively, Rice (Sr., DE) and Gullickson (Sr., DT) are back on the line. Jansen (Jr., LB), Hunter Ridler (Sr., LB) and Luki Hale (Sr., LB) also return as does the secondary of Haen (Sr., DB), Wertish (Jr., DB), Gasca (Sr., DB) and Schrupp (Sr.).

Haen, Gullickson, Gasca, Ridler and Jansen are captains.

Gullickson and Rice earned all-district honors. Gasca and Haen were all-district honorable-mentions.

Gasca completed 35 of 81 passes for 370 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Jansen rushed for 984 yards and 13 touchdowns on 197 carries, a 5.0 average. Wertish rushed 62 times for 490 yards and six TDs, a 7.9 average. Gasca had 452 yards and six touchdowns rushing on 71 carries, a 6.4 average.

Haen caught 16 passes for 273 yards and two TDs.

Jansen led the defense with 90 total tackles, including 43 solo. He also had four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns. Wertish (71 tackles), Rice (66 tackles and 10 tackles for loss), Ridler (61 tackless), Haen (57 tackles), Gullickson (51 tackles) and Hale (42 tackles) all had big defensive seasons.

“While I still feel we are a team with some strong confidence, I by no means think we have it all together and are where we need to be,” Hebrink said. “The question is, how quick can we get on track here?”