Irish eye smiling in Rosemount

Garrett Glaus remembers the lean years of the Rosemount football program from earlier this decade as well as anyone. Before entering high school, the current Rosemount captain was a ball boy for the Irish varsity team when losses were plentiful and a trip to the state tournament seemed like a pipe dream. That was then, however, and these days nobody is overlooking the Irish. Rosemount reached the state tournament in 2006 and this season the Irish recorded their first ever Lake Conference championship after a 40-7 win over Eastview on Oct. 15. The victory gave Rosemount a 7-1 (7-0 in league play) record and a conference co-championship with Eden Prairie, which was not on Rosemount's schedule this season. The win also gave the Irish a No. 1 seed in the Section 3AAAAA playoffs. For a guy like Glaus who has been around the program through many ups and downs, it was a satisfying accomplishment. "One of our goals was to win the conference and it was great to see the stands packed and everyone so excited," Glaus said. "There is just tons of excitement around town and in school about the football team this year. I remember some of the down times, so this is really great." The Irish finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in Class 5A. Now in his 10th year at the helm of the Rosemount program, coach Jeff Erdmann has seen the number of kids out for football continually grow each season. "When I first started here, we were at the bottom," Erdmann said. "We had 29 juniors and seniors out for football that first year, but the community has been great. They've helped us grow our program and continue to build to where we are today." This season, Rosemount had nearly 80 kids out for football. Erdmann knows having those types of numbers is something that is very important in one of the best conferences in Minnesota. "The Lake is a great conference," Erdmann said. "You have major high schools with a big emphasis on (athletics). We want to limit the number of guys playing both ways and with the numbers we have now, we are able to do a good job in that area and keep our players fresh." Besides Glaus - who plays safety on defense, is in on some offensive sets and also returns kicks - quarterback Chase Vogler has been a big reason for Rosemount's success. Vogler passed for 1,015 yards during the regular season while also tossing 16 touchdowns with just four interceptions. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound senior also led the team with 343 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. "Chase is a great story," Erdmann said. "He was on our sophomore B team two years ago and he just kind of grew into his body. He had a really good year last year and he's just been great this season. One of the things we really like about him is that he takes care of the football and makes good decisions." In combination with Vogler's efforts, the Irish use a tailback by committee approach on the ground with running backs Andy Malicki, Tyler Sandoz and Joseph Broback all getting carries. When Vogler puts the ball in the air, however, it's likely going to junior receiver Zachary Vraa. Through Rosemount's first seven games, the 6-foot-2 Vraa hauled in 32 catches for 529 yards and eight touchdowns. "What's been great with Vraa is what he's done in the off-season to get better," Erdmann said. "He got into the weight room and got a lot stronger. He's made some absolute circus catches this season and I think people will be looking at him to play college football in the next couple of years." With an Irish defense that has been stingy all season, the formula on both sides of the ball and on specials teams as added up to a lot of wins. Rosemount's only regular season loss came at the hands of Hopkins in a 32-21 defeat on Sept. 26. Erdmann said his team's opening night 17-14 win over Lakeville South seemed to set the tone for the year. The Irish lost to Apple Valley 10-7 in the Section 3AAAAA playoffs in 2007, but have a very good chance to make it back to the state tournament in 2008. "We have several goals in our program and one is to win a state championship," Erdmann said. "We have goals as far as finishing in our conference, making it to the state tournament and, of course, academic goals." Talking about a state championship as a realistic possibility is something that wouldn't have been discussed in Erdmann's early years as Rosemount when the addition of Eastview High School helped to limit Rosemount's enrollment numbers. "I think it was 2000 that we were trying to get a JV team going," Erdmann said. "We played Lakeville (when it was just Lakeville) and got beat 70-0. We had four guys turn their stuff in that day. It's hard for kids to invest when things are that tough. Getting to the top is harder than staying on top." With the school's first Lake Conference championship, a top 10 Class 5A ranking and head of steam going into the playoffs, Rosemount is no longer anybody's doormat.