Brentwood football notebook: Spartans fill up stat sheet in early-season win

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, September 22, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Notebook items from around the Brentwood High School campus:

Colton Rosing stepped in as a pinch hitter for the Brentwood football team and blasted grand slams in his first two at-bats.

Rosing, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound senior wide receiver, filled in for Cedric Davis at quarterback and led the Spartans to back-to-back wins over Sto-Rox and Springdale.

After getting his feet wet as his team’s signal caller in a 21-14 nonconference victory against Sto-Rox, Rosing turned in a memorable performance in a rousing 48-6 conference-opening win against Springdale.

Rosing tossed only five passes against the Dynamos but completed four for 222 yards and three scores. He averaged 55.5 yards per completion, and his touchdowns covered 45, 71 and 84 yards.

“Those are like video game stats,” Brentwood coach Nick Caponi said. “Colton has stepped in as a quarterback and has done a fantastic job for us. Against Springdale, he did a great job of making the right reads and throwing to the right guys. I called him Mr. Efficiency.”

Rosing humbly gave credit to his teammates.

“I was very comfortable in the pocket due to my line giving me time and the receivers running great routes,” he said. “This was by far the best numbers I’ve put up at quarterback since I’m normally a receiver. I’d like to thank my coaches and teammates for believing in me and supporting me at quarterback.”

Rosing also competes in basketball and baseball at Brentwood. He said he wants to see the football team grow each week and keep stacking wins.

All-conference senior wideout Forrest Betz caught two passes against the Dynamos — both for touchdowns — for 129 yards. Sophomore Daysaun Spencer also had two receptions covering 93 yards and one score.

“Give the receivers — Forrest and Daysaun — credit, as well,” Caponi said. “They did a heck of a job of getting open and getting yards after the catch. And the offensive line didn’t give up a sack.”

The Spartans’ O-line is comprised of seniors Max Rock (G), Antonio Weir (G) and Daymire Spencer (T); sophomores Ray Rieber (C) and Giovanni Miller (T); and junior Anthony Henry (G/T).

Betz reached the end zone on 45- and 84-yard receptions while Spencer, who rambled for 67-yard score on his only rushing attempt, reeled in a 71-yard TD toss.

Two other players reached paydirt — senior RB/LB Zach Vickless, from 1 and 40 yards out, and freshman RB/LB Nicky Wardzinski, on a 1-yard run.

The 48-point total was the most by a Brentwood football team since 2016 when the Spartans defeated Avonworth, 48-40. Brentwood also scored 47 points twice that season and averaged 31.8 ppg.

Along with Rosing’s impressive yardage total in the air, Brentwood amassed 254 yards on the ground on just 18 carries, an average of 14.1 yards per attempt.

Davis, a 5-11, 160-pound junior and second-year starter at QB, was expected to return to the lineup Sept. 27 against Frazier.

Brentwood improved to 2-2 with the victory against Springdale.

“Our expectations have remained the same since the beginning of the offseason,” Caponi said. “We expect to have a team that is going to battle and compete for a playoff spot.

“These guys are hungry to win.”

• Oh Henry!

The biggest player on the Brentwood football team is Henry, at 5-11, 280 pounds.

The second biggest is built like, well, a rock; Rock stands 5-10 and weighs 255.

Next-in-line in the size department is the Rieber, at 5-10, 245 pounds.

Brentwood has plenty of beef in the trenches; there are 14 players listed as linemen on the team’s 29-man roster.

Five athletes share the “Mr. Versatility” role — Rosing (WR/QB/DB), Betz (WR/RB/DB), senior Owen Beck (RB/HB/LB), Spencer (RB/WR/DB), a sophomore, and junior Blaize Dias (QB/WR/LB).

• Davis threw for 1,444 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023, connecting on 107 of 222 aerials. He racked up seven games when he passed for 100 or more yards, including a pair of 200-yard gems.

His best effort of the season came against McGuffey when he hit on 13 of 19 passes for 253 yards and one score. His longest completion of the year — 72 yards — also was against the Highlanders.

• There are eight freshmen on the Brentwood football team in 2024.

Three will grow over the years from their current 140-pound status — running backs Taariq Miller, Jeremiah Johnson and Wardzinski.

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