This year the Lowellville Rockets are off to a great start. Their record is 5-3 following a 34-17 win over the Jackson Milton Blue Jays. This was led by sophomore quarterback Ricky Wilrich who threw three touchdown passes. There were some questions about how a sophomore quarterback would perform on the varsity level. We asked Head Coach Mamula about having a younger quarterback leading the team this year. He said, “I am excited because it is new personnel, and new personnel means that they listen better.”
We asked Coach Mamula to talk about his decision to have Ricky Willrich lead the team, as opposed to an older player. He said, “It was that the best players play and we knew from practice last year that he was going to be the best.”
Mamula described Ricky’s growth on the team as both a quarterback and team leader. He said, “He was really polished as a freshman. He came in mentally prepared without coach help, and the guys respected him as a leader.”
Considering the fact that he is ranked 17th in Ohio for passing yards as a sophomore speaks for itself. We asked Ricky how he felt about starting the season as the quarterback this year. Ricky said, “ I knew coming into the season I had a lot of weapons. Josh Pazel, AJ Boehlke, Nicky Larosa, and the newest addition Bruce Brenner made it easy.”
We asked Ricky how the off-season was fitting him into the season and how coaching made him into the player he is today. Ricky said, “Fitting in is the easy part. It’s going to be a very balanced offense. I’ve also been talking with the coaches about some new possible schemes and they were very cooperative with me and made it a lot easier.”
Ricky discussed his playing style. He responded, “I think my play style fits because we’ve been a pass-heavy team since Mamula got the job.”
As a sophmore, there are aspects of the game Ricky still would like to improve on. He said, “My scrambling ability really needs some work and if it is possible, I wish I could be taller.”
Next, Ricky Willrich and the Rockets will face the Waterloo Vikings who are 3-5. When asked how he felt about the upcoming game, Ricky stated, “We just gotta come out swinging and keep the intensity up the whole game.”
