John Raffel
Sports Scene
Sam Rockafellow is a senior who has been a mainstay in the Central Montcalm football attack this season. He’s playing middle linebacker and fullback for the Hornets and is the team’s leading tackler with 91 in his first seven games. He has had as many as 15 tackles in one game.
“I had good reads all night,” he said. “It just felt right.”
It’s his second year starting at middle linebacker for the Hornets.
“I put in a lot of work during the off-season and got stronger and faster,” he said. “I got a lot better with the varsity experience.”
Rockafellow broke his leg during baseball season more than a year ago and had seven screws and a plate inserted. It took awhile to rehabilitate and get back in the groove. In the meantime, Rockafellow has focused on having a strong senior season.
“It was about three months recovering,” said Rockafellow. “The coaches prepare us. It’s up to us to go hard to the ball.”
The first three games, Rockafellow saw action running the ball.
“I’m more of a short-yardage carrier,” he said.
The Hornets were 5-3 going into the final week of the season.
Rockafellow has been in organized football nine years.
“I started playing middle linebacker probably the sixth grade,” he said.