Buckling down: Rochester amplifies toughness ahead of final Leonard Bowl against SHG

ROCHESTER — Grant Wisecup deemed last year’s Class 4A state semifinal as unforgettable.

The Rochester senior lineman can bet on this one being seared into his memory forever, too.

No. 4 seed Rochester (11-1) draws No. 2 Sacred Heart-Griffin (12-0) in the Class 4A state semifinals for the second consecutive season at Ken Leonard Field at 7 p.m. Friday.

The stakes could be even higher this time as the final Leonard Bowl in the annals of history — a heralded rivalry series that pits father and son coaches, Ken Leonard at SHG and Derek Leonard at Rochester.

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Ken, the state’s all-time winningest coach, will retire at the end of this season.

It all but ensures all of the fanfare — and frigid temperatures — as last year’s postseason meeting, if not more.

“It was freezing cold and there were more people there than I've ever seen at a high school football game,” Wisecup recalled of the previous playoff meeting. “When we came out of the tunnel, I remember thinking that.”

Rockets toughen up

Rochester opened its season with a 62-27 loss at SHG.

Much has transpired since that time. That includes 11 straight wins for a program now long accustomed to success with eight state titles since 2010 under Derek Leonard.

It perhaps starts with Rochester’s physicality. The defense has yielded 11.6 points per game this season while a bruising ground game has helped spur the offense, led by senior quarterback Keeton Reiss and senior running back Ian Lichtenberger.

Reiss completed 12 of 21 passing attempts for 240 yards and three TDs while rushing for 106 yards and one score in the 41-28 quarterfinal win at Carterville.

Wisecup, who contributes to both lines, wasn’t sure how their physicality compared to previous years but it has been a point of emphasis this season.

“I definitely know we try to be as physical as we can and as quick as we can for the most part,” Wisecup said, “but that's one thing we really tried to do this year is play physical.”

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Senior center and nose tackle Blake Buckles referred to the opener against SHG as a valuable lesson.

“I think especially Week 1 we realized that we needed to step it up a notch and over the course of the season we've become way, way more physical,” Buckles said. “We stayed on blocks, all kinds of stuff, and we just kind of ramped everything up a lot.”

Having Reiss, 6-foot and 250 pounds, and Lichtenberger, 6-2 and 220 pounds, helps.

“It's nice because they make their own holes for themselves,” Buckles said. “We can do a lot for them, but sometimes they have to just kind of put their heads down and do work on their own, it helps a lot.”

Wisecup sparks defense

Wisecup and Buckles bolster the front in different ways.

The former prefers defense. Buckles, vice versa.

Wisecup began playing both ways last year. He said it beats being on the sidelines.

“I have no problem playing both ways, but I think defense is a little more fun just because I don't have to remember quite as much," Wisecup said. “The good thing is that even in JFL we still run some of this stuff. But you never really realize coach Leonard's offense until you play in it, so it's definitely a learning curve. But then once you get the hang of it, it's not too terrible to get the hang of it.”

Wisecup, who plays defensive end and right tackle, has registered 31 tackles. That includes 6 ½ tackles for loss and 4 ½ sacks.

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His breakout performance came against Cahokia during last year’s playoffs in which he opened the game with a tackle-for-loss and sack on two of the first three plays. 

Wisecup said he is interested in playing football at the next level. Ditto Buckles.

“I definitely like playing on the outside a little more because you get to be a little quicker,” Wisecup said. “When you get down on the inside, it's a lot more of just big dudes, especially on defense getting double-teamed every play, so it's not quite as fun. But it's definitely fun playing the edge on defense because you get to use a little more speed.”

Wisecup also lauded junior teammates Karter Reiss, Keeton’s younger brother, and Lance Ingold on that defensive line.

“I know they'll do a good job when I'm gone because they've come a long way,” Wisecup said. “I know they've improved a lot.”

Buckles spearheads offensive line

Buckles started as a center last season but now additionally helps fill in on defense this fall at nose tackle.

“I think we're different than last year,” Buckles said of the offensive line this year. “We have a lot of younger guys. We're definitely bigger than last year. I think this is one of the biggest offensive lines we've had in a while and we just like to work. We like to move people, we like to do all the fun stuff.”

Not unlike Wisecup, Buckles commended his younger teammates along the offensive front, including Karter Reiss, Parker Lyons and Jake Milliron to name a few.

“Last year was great, especially because of all the older guys we had, it was really helpful to learn from them and see what they do that makes them so good to carry that over to this year and help the younger guys.”

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Buckles also participates in wrestling, track and field and even choir. He helped sing the national anthem before last year’s homecoming game.

“I'd say I've been doing choir longer than I've been in football,” Buckles said. “I started doing that in fifth grade. I started football in seventh grade. Actually my freshman year one of our starting linemen (Josh Grant) was in choir also and I saw him do it. I'm like, 'OK, well, if he does it, I'm going to do it.'”

But football has been his biggest focus.

“It's always the toughest game we play,” Buckles said of SHG. “We take advantage of each other's mistakes. Whether it's physical mistakes, mental mistakes, anything, we just have to take advantage of it and try to make less than they do.”

Contact Bill Welt: (217) 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA football: Linemen help Rochester prepare for state semi vs. SHG