Rochelle Middle School celebrates conference championship in football
The 2019 Rochelle Middle School junior Vikings football team won a conference championship this season. Photo by Laieke Abebe/Neuse News.
High school football regular season is wrapping up this week, but in middle school football, one area team has stood out among the rest.
Rochelle Middle School in Kinston just completed a conference championship season. They finished 5-2 overall and undefeated in conference play at 3-0. On Thursday, the junior Vikings celebrated their successful season with a ceremony to commemorate their title.
Rochelle, the feeder middle school of Kinston High School, played Contentnea-Savannah, Woodington, and E.B. Frink twice during the regular season. The junior Vikings took advantage when it counted towards the conference title with wins in their final three contests. Last season, Jesse Miller’s team lost a tiebreaker with their only loss of the season which was to Woodington.
The 2019 Rochelle Middle School cheerleading squad has led the way in cheering the junior Vikings to victory. Photo by Laieke Abebe/Neuse News.
“It’s been a great year,” Miller said. “We’ve had a lot of up’s and down’s, but we were happy to get some more numbers for our football program. My coaching staff and players put in a lot of hard work and I’m extremely proud of them. If we have the same effort we had this year, I think we’ll be even better next season.”
Miller’s coaching staff includes Chris Kubik, Josh Dawson, Robert Walker, Jamal Mills, and Anthony McGleen. Rochelle principal Felecia Solomon and athletic director Rhondra Fleming spoke highly of the entire coaching staff.
“Coach Miller is one of Rochelle Middle School’s greatest assets,” Solomon said. “Under his leadership and the help of his coaching staff, we’ve reestablished a great football program here. His commitment and passion for producing student athletes can’t be matched.”
From left to right, Jamal Mills, athletic director Rhondra Fleming, Anthony McGleen, head coach Jesse Miller, principal Felecia Solomon, Chris Kubik and Josh Dawson show off their conference championship trophy. Photo by Laieke Abebe/Neuse News.
Winning a championship is important not only for the athletic program, but for the school in general. However, for coach Miller, the real journey is about his players growing up to become young men.
“That’s the important thing,” Miller said about keeping kids involved in sports. “The more we can keep kids playing football, baseball, basketball, etc., the better we’ll be able to do with keeping them off the streets. I know football season might be over and it’ll be hard to have 40 players on one basketball team, but we encourage kids to play in recreational leagues just so they can have something to do everyday.”