Talk about an eye-popping performance from a freshman! Checotah’s Cole Rolland helped lead the Wildcats to the Class 3A semifinals last year by passing for 2682 yards and 32 touchdowns. He also ran for 174 yards and even caught a pass for 13 yards. “The big thing for me coming from middle school to high school was adjusting to the speed, so I worked with our receivers on weekends and all last summer to get more adapted,” said Rolland who is in student council and will be in National Honor Society this coming year. Cole knows there will be an adjustment this year without big receiver Elijah Thomas who caught 26 of Cole’s 32 TD passes and has now moved on to OU. “Elijah was great. He was always someone I could rely on as a great athlete but also a great leader,” said Rolland. “He really helped build my confidence as the season went along but this year, I think I’ll have to be more disciplined and make the best reads for the team. I’ve been working during the summer with our receivers like I did last year to build my confidence in their abilities.” Certainly, coach Zac Ross was pleased with his young signal caller last year. “I was impressed with how he performed as a freshman coming right into a varsity setting and playing 13 games. He’s had a good spring and is more comfortable and becoming more vocal and will be a team captain this year, much like Elijah was when he was a sophomore,” said Ross. Even though his offensive numbers were off the chart, it was on defense that Cole picked a highlight from his fabulous season. “It was in our playoff game against Bristow and the first time I played defense, and I had an interception and almost ran it all the way back,” said Rolland who also plays basketball and runs track for the Wildcats. “Even though we won’t have Elijah, I feel like we’re ahead of where we were at this time last year and I think we can have an even better year.” So watch out for the Wildcats again, Class 3A.
Photo Courtesy Gena Maxwell Photography
