Indians finish first week under Rolfe

FORT DEFIANCE — For the first time in a quarter of a century, the Fort Defiance football team opened the season on Monday under a new coach. After five practices with Dan Rolfe, the Indians are slowly adjusting to their new skipper and are beginning to buy into his system.

“For the first week we’re OK, but if you ask me are we ready to play our first game, by no means,” Rolfe said. “We have gotten some of our first offense in, we got our base defense in and by the end of next week we should have our main stuff in. Then we can start having fun.”

Rolfe said he hasn’t finalized the team’s offense, but is in the process and will wait to see how his athletes develop during training camp. The Indians’ base offense will be an I Pro, but they will offer many different looks during the season.

“We are going to have to be a multiple offense team,” Rolfe said. “We have a couple of good quarterbacks and each one has their own little qualities, so we will tailor fit the offense around those kids.”

Rolfe left Benedictine High School, a private school in Richmond, to take the Fort Defiance job that was vacated in November when 25-year coach Dale Spitzer was fired. In his final season at Benedictine, Rolfe led the team to a 9-2 finish and compiled a 21-17 record during his tenure.

Now with the Indians, Rolfe said there weren’t too many differences between the schools, except for the types of bodies he has inherited at Fort.

“I would like to say we have the body types that would suit an I Pro team, much more than I had at Benedictine,” Rolfe said. “We had a few more skill position players [at Benedictine], but we have more traditional football body types here. The rest is if we can play or not.”

Seniors Broc May and Michael Cook said the team has rallied behind its new coach and his style of teaching.

“It feels like there is a purpose,” Cook said, “like we are all going for the same goal. We are all working together and moving forward.”

May added that Rolfe doesn’t give the team much time to relax anymore.

“No walking at all, just make sure you hustle everywhere you go,” he said.

Between varsity and JV, the Indians brought more than 90 players to camp this season and also had strong numbers during offseason weightlifting, surprising Rolfe.

“The commitment in the weight room blew my mind,” he said. “For me this was a big surprise. I’m used to coming from a smaller school where the weight room was 30 miles away.”

Fort gets its first taste of action on Aug. 15 when it hosts Fluvanna in the opening scrimmage of the year. Riverheads and Fork Union will also scrimmage the Indians on Aug. 27. The Indians will have a first-week bye and will not start the season until Sept. 4, when they will host Augusta County rival Buffalo Gap.

The Indians will be searching for their first winning season since 2003 and their first multiple-win season in two years.

“I don’t care if they come back 10-0 or 0-10, everyone wants to win every game,” Rolfe said. “No one says, ‘Let’s go 1-9 or 0-10.’ They are hungry and I’m hungry.