NEENAH — Neenah wasted little time blasting off into the 2022 season. Last Thursday, the Rockets beating De Pere, 46-7 led by a huge night from senior running back Jace Jenkins.
“Just, lets get better, lets keep getting better and rush for more yards."
That’s what Rockets head coach Steve Jung told his squad after they rushed 508 yards in their big win over De Pere last week. Senior Jase Jenkins had a career night..
“He comes in and he runs as hard on Friday night as he does in practice and he coaches the younger kids up," Jung said. “He is a really good teammate.”
Jenkins saw a lot of good plays come together last week. The senior rushed for 261 yards on 25 carries, averaging over 10 yards per attempt.
“I love when a good play comes together,” Jenkins said. “When the o-line does their job and the wide receivers block and I don’t have to do anything. I love that.”
He also punched in four touchdowns on the ground.
“We’re going to put you to the dirt and we did that,” Jenkins said about the Rockets rushing attack. “We’re very aggressive and we’re going to go until you can’t go any more and we’re going to go some more.”
Last year, the Rockets only attempted 152 passes, this year will likely be even less. Under center they have sophomore quarterback Evan Vanevenhoven. Who is known for his rushing. He had 108 yards on the ground last week.
“I feel like throughout the game he slowly started to get more confident,” said center Nate Cleveland. “It’s a nice attack because you have Jase going and then Evan going too.”
“He’s young, but his footwork, his worth ethic – he really took the time in to learn his footwork, learn his reads and do his job as a quarterback,” Jung said of Vanevenhoven. “Now, we’re making it really simple for him because we know he needs to grow. Hopefully each week we can do more with him.”
Of course in front of every great rushing attack is a stout offensive line. Or as Jenkins calls them: Deadly.
“Very deadly,” he said. “We’re a lot more conditioned than other teams and I think that showed, too.”
“Our offensive line is relatively a young offensive line. Giving them that confidence and moving the ball on the ground (is) big for us,” said Jung.
Neenah’s game against Menasha (1-0) will be on WACY TV32 Friday night at 7 p.m..
