NCAA II Football.....

WOW....my poor blog poorly neglected....{facebook has taken over, but that's no excuse!!}. Recently I went to go visit my son, Derrick Rovira, who plays defensive end {#36} for the Hilltoppers of West Liberty University..had my camera and took some pics hoping to catch some action.....but to his and my disheartment, he did not get to play one down. This was {and I am being disgruntled when saying this} the ONLY game since starting his college football career last year that HE DID NOT PLAY!!!! With that said, I still managed shots of his teammates, his roommate, his girlfriend, and him.

The rest of the album can be viewed HERE>

Spring Ball... “We had a taste of success last year and it just made us hungry for more.”

Haven't been here in a while....really wish I was back east however documenting all the happenings!!!!! Here's what is going on in good ole West Virginia....good luck Saturday Derrick....go hard and happy birthday!!

Derrick Rovira is returning as a Sophmore to the West Liberty Hilltoppers contending for a starting defensive position...the team is strong having a national ranking and first in their region.

Article courtesy of the West Liberty University website: http://www.hilltoppersports.com/
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WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Coming off a Top 10 national ranking and a trip to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs, West Liberty head football coach Roger Waialae likes what he’s seen from his veteran Hilltopper squad heading into the final week of preseason drills.

“We have 27 seniors back and that’s really enabled us to get a lot done,” Waialae said. “We’re to the point now where most of our players have been here for a while so we’re not starting from scratch. We’ve added a few tweaks to keep things fresh but our main goals were to fine tune what we think we do well and shore up the areas we needed to improve.”

West Liberty led the nation in scoring and total offense a year ago and has just about everybody back from the first offense in college football history to feature a 4,500-yard passer, a 1,500-yard rusher and three 1,000-yard receivers.

All-American junior quarterback Zach Amedro, runnerup for the Harlon Hill Award as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year after leading the nation with 49 TD passes and 4,945 passing yards, isn’t working out with the team. With only one semester of eligibility remaining, he’s sitting out the spring in order to use that last semester in the fall.

Waialae says Amedro’s absence may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

“I’ve probably only seen Zach two or three times this semester because he’s been staying away from the team,” Waialae said. “It hasn’t been easy.

“On the other hand, it’s opened up a lot more reps for our other quarterbacks and they’ve really stepped up. (Freshman) Tyler Tucci might be the most improved player on the team.”

The quarterbacks certainly don’t lack for quality targets.

Junior All-Region tailback Kevon Calhoun scored 26 TDs and rushed for 1,529 yards – both school records – last fall.

Junior TE Ryan Travis (104 catches, 1,250 yards, 14 TDs) was a consensus All-American while junior WR Kashif Walls (61 catches, 1,321 yards, 22 TDs) made several All-America teams. Fellow junior WR Willie Walker (51 catches, 809 yards, 8 TDs) combined devastating blocking skills with game-breaking downfield speed.

One of the most talented receiving corps in the nation is being put to good use building strength on the other side of the ball this spring, especially in a secondary which was susceptible to the big play a year ago.

“The defensive backfield was a focus in recruiting and it has been a focus in the spring,” Waialae said. “From what I’ve seen so far, our defense is catching up to our offense in terms of quality depth.

“We have six or seven kids at the corners with six or seven more at the safeties and they can all play. Two of the transfers – Dashon Fooks and Alec Wood – have stood out but we have 10-12 kids for the five secondary spots. Competing against our receivers every day has really accelerated their development. I’m confident we’ll be much improved in the back.”

The 2009 Hilltoppers set the bar extremely high, rolling to an outright WVIAC championship, winning a school-record 11 games and finishing the year ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Waialae – the reigning WVIAC Coach of the Year – says his 2010 edition won’t back down from the challenge.

“We probably had the best offseason in terms of conditioning since I’ve been here,” Waialae said. “We had a taste of success last year and it just made us hungry for more.”

West Liberty will close out its spring football drills this week with the annual Black and Gold intersquad game on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon at Russek Field.

Play by Play coming soon.....

Click on photo below to watch the preview....{click on mid-def for better resolution}...ENJOY!!!

First Week of Football Training Camp

In Derrick's own words...."it's hard". But the hard work will go a long way for this crew. Coach Roger Waialae is paying close attention to the details and enforcing the discipline needed for this team to succeed. Full Story HERE
As a mom far away from her son at college, I'm totally loving the documentation on the team's new blog, the Hilltopper Huddle. I won't miss a thing with his season except for him of course. In the meantime, enjoy some of the selected images of Derrick. Thanks photogs for your documentation. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!!! and for the guys on the gridiron, keep working hard!!!

Hilltopper Football Schedule...

The HillToppers Football Schedule
Aug 29, 2009 AT Edinboro Edinboro, PA 1:30 PM
Sep 5, 2009 VS Walsh West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 12, 2009 VS Lake Erie West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 19, 2009 AT WV Wesleyan Buckhannon, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 26, 2009 VS Fairmont West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 3, 2009 AT Glenville Glenville, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 10, 2009 VS WV State (HOMECOMING) West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 17, 2009 AT Shepherd Shepherdstown, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 24, 2009 AT Charleston Charleston, WV 2:00 PM
Oct 31, 2009 VS Seton Hill West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Nov 7, 2009 VS Concord West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM

Derrick starts as HillTopper today {Div II Collegiate Football}

Derrick Rovira, an all state football defensive player from Weir High, WV will begin his adventure as a West Liberty State College HillTopper today.

News from the Hilltoppers athletic Site:
(news conference with Coach Waialae currently being featured)

West Liberty Picked to Contend for WVIAC Grid Crown

Hilltoppers among six teams receiving first-place votes in coaches’ poll

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Coach Roger Waialae’s West Liberty squad was one of six football teams to receive at least one first-place vote here Saturday afternoon when the results of the West Virginia Conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll were announced.

The only WVIAC team with winning records in each of the past four seasons, the Hilltoppers were ranked fourth in one of the most tightly-packed preseason polls in years.

Defending champion Glenville State was the No. 1 pick of the nine coaches with four first-place votes. The next five teams – Charleston, Seton Hill, West Liberty, Shepherd and Fairmont State – all received one first-place vote to form a virtual logjam just behind the Pioneers. West Virginia State, Concord and West Virginia Wesleyan rounded out the poll.

West Liberty must replace All-Region running back Branden Ore, All-American cornerback Darren Banks and record-setting placekicker Billy Hager but Waialae believes his Hilltoppers will be able to show the league coaches that they’re better strategists than prognosticators.

“We did lose three of our top players,” Waialae said, “but this is probably the best team I’ve had coming back since I came here. For the first time, we won’t have to play a lot of freshmen and sophomores. We’re going to be a junior- and senior-laden team and I’m excited about that.

“We have Zach Amedro coming back healthy for his junior season at quarterback. Zach played hurt most of last year but he’s still thrown for more yards in his first two seasons than anyone in the history of our league. Eddie Hills is back. He led the conference in receiving last year as a wide receiver after putting up back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons in his first two years.

“We have eight starters coming back on defense, which is tremendously important in this league. Our inside linebackers – Nick Harding and Clay Beeler – were the top tacklers in the WVIAC last season. We have just about everybody back except Darren in the secondary and I think we’re going to be better up front.”

Waialae said a strong recruiting class with a good mix of collegiate transfers and high-profile freshmen could be the key to taking West Liberty from second place – its home for the past three seasons – to first.

“We needed to do a better job of protecting our quarterback and pressuring the other team’s quarterback,” Waialae said, “so we made a big push to recruit offensive and defensive linemen and I think it paid off.

“The most improved area of our football team is our offensive line. Guys who started every game for us a year ago will be fighting to keep those jobs this month. We’re deeper and faster on the defensive line, as well. We could rotate as many as 12 defensive linemen every game. We’ve done a lot of good things at West Liberty over the past four seasons. Now it’s time to take that next step.”

More of the story.... click HERE

The HillToppers Football Schedule
Aug 29, 2009 AT Edinboro Edinboro, PA 1:30 PM
Sep 5, 2009 VS Walsh West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 12, 2009 VS Lake Erie West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 19, 2009 AT WV Wesleyan Buckhannon, WV 1:00 PM
Sep 26, 2009 VS Fairmont West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 3, 2009 AT Glenville Glenville, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 10, 2009 VS WV State (HOMECOMING) West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 17, 2009 AT Shepherd Shepherdstown, WV 1:00 PM
Oct 24, 2009 AT Charleston Charleston, WV 2:00 PM
Oct 31, 2009 VS Seton Hill West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM
Nov 7, 2009 VS Concord West Liberty, WV 1:00 PM

Good Luck Derrick!!!! See you on the gridiron!!!

Who will be the best this year???

National Discussion About the 2009 HS Football Season - Who will be the best this year? http://bit.ly/BestFB2009

If your son is a Senior this coming football season, and is totally interested in playing college ball, don't wait for the recruiters....start the recruiting process now. But here is a tidbit....start the recruiting process earlier in their Sophmore year....this gives recruiters a few years to eye up his stats and get some games viewed. Good luck this year!!!