By: Mike Still (@mikestill94)
Feature photo: Evan Rollwagen (L) with teammate Carson Chamberlain-Brass
In the spring of grade eight, Miles Mac linebacker Evan Rollwagen strapped on the pads for the first time. It was the start of an impressive football journey for the two-sport star, who’s also played hockey since he was five.
Originally intending on playing halfback, Buckeyes head coach Dan Washnuk – one of the province’s most well-respected football minds – quickly realized that linebacker was more well-suited for Rollwagen.
“I have to say Wash has taught me everything I know about the game of football,” the grade 11 says.
“From the very start he saw that I was an intelligent player and that I could read offences pretty well, so he thought that linebacker would be a better fit for me.”
It didn’t take long for Rollwagen to feel comfortable on the gridiron, as he earned a starting spot on the Buckeyes’ roster as a freshman. The following year he was elected a captain – a role he continues to serve in – while also being named the team’s MVP and a finalist for the Winnipeg High School Football League ‘s (WHSFL) Defensive Player of the Year award.
A key element of Rollwagen’s role as middle linebacker is being vocal, an aspect he thrives in due in part to his hockey background.
“Playing football and hockey are both very vocal sports. As a team we just need to know what’s happening around us at all times. When you’re playing vocal it just makes everybody else’s jobs so much easier.”
Rollwagen – who’s enrolled in Miles Mac’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program and is fully bilingual in French – took an even bigger step in his progression as a player this year. For starters, he was part of Team Manitoba’s U18 squad, which went 2-1, falling to Quebec but boucing back with victories over New Brunswick and British Columbia.
It was during this experience that he had the opportunity to learn under long-time Manitoba Bisons defensive coordinator Stan Pierre.
“I’ve never done anything like that before,” Rollwagen says of his provincial team experience.
“Everything is happening so much faster, you’re running a lot more complex coverages. Having to do things two times faster just makes you better when you’re coming back to high school where it’s a bit of a slower pace.”
The game certainly slowed down for the charismatic athlete. He finished the 2019 regular season with 40 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception as part of a defence that gave up just 40 points while also recording four shutouts.
This Saturday, Rollwagen and his Miles Mac teammates will face off against the undefeated Portage Trojans for the WHSFL Division 2 championship. It’ll be a battle of the division’s best defence in the Buckeyes against the division’s best offence in Portage, who also handed Miles their only loss of the regular season in a last second 23-21 result.
For the Buckeyes however, the game is also a celebration of how hard they’ve worked over the last few seasons. Including Rollwagen, the roster is composed of a number of athletes who’ve endured two character-building years where they won a combined two contests. Their countless hours of hard work will culminate this weekend in what should be an all-time classic.
“For many players on our roster, we have now won as many playoff games this year as they have won regular season games in the last two years,” noted Washnuk.
“That really kind of captures what this program has been about. We’ve been building towards this through adversity and opportunity on and off the field and as a team it’s kind of come together. Last year we knew what the team was going to be and we built and built and built. We’re reaping the benefits of that this year.”
Rollwagen echoed his coach’s comments.
“As a team last year, Coach Wash’s emphasis was really on discipline and doing everything as a team. Everybody developed in the offseason, making us a better team this year.
Our whole team is tight. After every game we go to Boston Pizza as a team and just celebrate and have a good time with each other. We do everything as a team. Our whole linebacking corps is super tight. I think that really helps on the field because we have good chemistry with each other.”