Led by transfer QB, Rocky Mountain looking dangerous in early portion of season

MERIDIAN — Rocky Mountain may have plugged the one hole on its roster.

Last season, it was a revolving door at quarterback. With five different quarterbacks called into action to do a specific task, all the Grizzlies needed this season was consistent play from the position.

They seemed to have found that, and more.

New to the team this season is Austin Rovig, a transfer from Timberline. He moved into the district in February and has been with the team ever since. Through two games, he’s been as sharp as they come.

Building off last week’s 300-plus-yard and four-touchdown effort, Rovig threw for 377 yards and three touchdowns in Rocky Mountain’s 42-8 win over Chiawana (Wash.) Friday night. He also ran for a score. With 690 yards passing combined in the first two weeks, Rocky Mountain’s offense is explosive again.

“Last year we didn’t really have a quarterback,” wide receiver Cade Benedick said. “We had five different quarterbacks playing at one time. He came over and was like ‘I’m going to be the starter and I’ll take this team to the championship.’ From then on, there’s where we’ve built off. He’s super confident in what he does.”

There was still a quarterback battle to be played out in the offseason between Rovig, Collin Chapman and Kaelan Custer. Head coach Scott Criner said Rovig’s football IQ stood out, earning him the job.

“You can ask him what he saw and then tell him this is what we’re looking at and he can adjust, which I think is a rare trait for a high school quarterback,” Criner said. “And then he has the arm strength.”

Rovig averaged 18.9 yards per completion with his receivers making highlight plays all night. Benedick and Jeff Thompson both were on the receiving end of long passing plays. Thompson came down with a 81-yard catch and run to set up a touchdown in the second quarter. Benedick had touchdown receptions of 51 and 64 yards.

Benedick had five catches for 140 yards and two touchdowns, Thompson had six for 187 yards and a score.

“No matter if it’s a 5-yard throw, I believe in them they can take it 80 yards to the house,” Rovig said of his receivers. “Not only my receivers but my offensive line, giving me the time to put those throws where they need to be. Everything starts from the offensive line…that sets the tone for the offense and how they play.”

With a quarterback like Rovig under center, the Grizzlies have a complete team, one capable of running the table.

“I feel like we needed something to click us together,” Rovig said. “That’s one thing everyone has said we’ve been missing. If we continue playing like this, we’ll make it far.”

The only drives Rocky Mountain (2-0) didn’t score on in the first half were ones in which they committed mistakes. A low snap on third down and an interception from Rovig halted the Grizzlies on two occasions. Other than that, they kept their foot on the gas, leading 35-0 at the half.

Picked to win their conference in a preseason coaches poll, Chiawana was overwhelmed. They had less than 50 yards of offense in the first half and 190 for the game. Rocky Mountain’s starters were pulled midway through the third quarter and the game went to a running clock in the fourth.

The Riverhawks had only three first downs in the first half.

“Based on what everybody told me from the Tri-Cities, they said they’re the team to beat up there,” Criner said. “That’s usually a team that can go out and play with other people. They had their line back, knew the quarterback was a good football player…meeting him (Chiwana head coach Scott Bond) before the game, he was very confident in his football team.”

Running back Taeshaun Reese added 50 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Rocky Mountain knew their defense would be one of the best in the state. Now with a quarterback to build around, the Grizzlies have put the rest of 6A on notice.

“He’s the totem pole that we work off of,” Benedick said. “He’s the main guy and everyone builds off that.”