With the second and final stop in Illinois, the 6th annual MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard brought us to Rochester High School, home of the Rockets. The
Rochester (Rochester, Ill.) Rockets finished undefeated at 14-0, claimed the 4A State Championship and finished #102 in the final MaxPreps Freeman rankings out of 15,000+ schools around the nation.
The first thing I noticed upon arrival at Rochester High School was their amazing athletic complex. The complex was finished just this past year; marking the inaugural sports season. Once inside, I met up with the well-represented Illinois Army National Guard contingent including Sergeant First Class Todd Diskey, Staff Sergeant Tony Rudin, First Sergeant Allen Morrison, Sergeant Brian Oros, and Master Sergeant Greg Dooley, who has a son on the team. The Guardsmen had a table display set up right inside the gym with the Army National Guard national ranking trophy prominently displayed for all the incoming fans to see. Every fan that walked by the highly coveted trophy stopped to check it out, and some even took pictures. The entire football team came over to get a quick glance of their soon-to-be special hardware and then each player was equipped with their Official Commemorative 2010 Tour of Champions t-shirt.
As the trophy presentation was getting underway, the entire football team lined up on the court to a standing ovation and thunderous roar from the crowd. Athletics Director Andrew Ford kicked off the presentation and announced veteran MaxPreps representative Mike "Wilkesy" Wilkes. Wilkes educated the crowd on how special this Rochester team was to be honored with this nationally renowned award. Wilkes turned the presentation over to Staff Sergeant Rudin who spoke to the crowd about what a great honor and achievement the 2010 season was for the Rochester football team. He then presented the prestigious trophy to head coach Derek Leonard who jubilantly accepted the trophy. Coach Leonard thanked the Army National Guard and MaxPreps for the award. Coach Leonard also thanked the fans and community for their support all season long. Shortly afterwards, Coach Leonard focused on the varsity basketball game where he is an assistant coach. The boy's basketball team won the game which capped off a phenomenal evening for Rochester High School Athletics.
Congratulations to Rochester High School and go Rockets!!
