Throughout his standout career at Bridgeport High School, Zach Rohrig has always been quick to turn attention from individual honors to team success.
Without prompt, Rohrig is first in line to give credit to the Indians’ offensive line for paving the way for any yardage gained by himself or his teammates in the backfield.
Those tendencies weren’t about to change even with an accolade on a bigger stage, as Rohrig has been selected as the 2023 Curt Warner Award winner, given annually to the state’s top running back by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
“I’m honored and I’m humbled,” Rohrig said. “It’s definitely exciting to win this honor. But the thing is, even though I know it will have my name on it, this is a team award. It’s a reflection of the success we had as a team and it’s a reflection of how hard the offensive line works.
“No matter if it was Kamar (2022 Stydahar Award Winner Kamar Summers) and everybody last year or Beau and Wes (2023 first-team all-staters Beau Ford and Wes Brown) and everybody this year, the offensive line was everything for me. I couldn’t have done any of it without them.”
Rohrig, who earlier this month was named a Class AAA First-Team All-State running back for the second-consecutive year, finished his senior season with 1,822 rushing yards on 237 attempts and 25 touchdowns. He also had another stellar year as a defensive back, finishing 2023 with 35 tackles, three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
His 1,822 yards and 25 TDs were the biggest chunk of the Indians’ most-prolific offense in school history as they finished with 5,420 yards and 82 touchdowns — both totals setting new school records. He also passed former BHS greats (all first-team all-state players) like Wes Tonkery, Dylan Tonkery, C.R. Rohrbough, Alex Sutton, Dante Bonamico, Anthony Bonamico, Brett Hathaway, Cam Cole and Corey Wagner, all the way to No. 3 on the school’s all-time rushing list with 3,671 yards, trailing only Jake Bowen (4,406) and Steve Stout (3,724).
“Zach had a great season for us and really made our offense go,” BHS coach Tyler Phares said. “He averaged nine yards per carry for his career. But the thing about Zach, he also blocked. If he didn’t have the ball, he was blocking for somebody else. He was great on defense for us, he was great on special teams for us. Zach is everything you want in a football player and everything you want in a Warner Award winner.”
Rohrig also had his best performances against Bridgeport’s stiffest competition.
Against Morgantown, Rohrig carried the ball 33 times for 182 yards and a touchdown in a 22-14 loss. His numbers for the Fairmont Senior game were 226 yards on 31 carries and two TDs in a 40-20 win.
In a matchup with Parkersburg South, Rohrig had 167 yards on 26 carries and three scores in a 48-13 win for the Indians.
In the 28-21 victory against Linsly, Rohrig had 156 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns.
In a 28-27 opening-round playoff victory against George Washington, Rohrig had 161 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. He followed that with 108 yards on 14 carries and two TDs in a 41-21 win over top-seeded Cabell Midland in the quarterfinals.
In the Indians’ final game of the season, a wild 73-70 loss to Princeton in the semifinals, Rohrig had 105 yards and two touchdowns before being forced out of the game when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
“I think the last game I was 100 percent healthy was the Fairmont Senior game (Week 4), said Rohrig, who had also battled a nagging groin injury for most of the season. “I just wanted to be out there with my brothers, doing whatever I could to help us win. Against Princeton, on that first touchdown catch by (Dom) Collins, I came down and I felt something wasn’t right. It wasn’t that bad at first but it kept getting worse the more I played and it got to the point I couldn’t stand on it and I couldn’t go back in.”
Although that game didn’t turn out the way Bridgeport or Rohrig would have preferred, he can already reflect positively on the year and his career.
“We had a great year, we finished 11-2, made it to the semifinals,” Rohrig said. “Last year we made it to the quarterfinals, my sophomore year we made it to the semifinals. “It’s been great and I wouldn’t trade the past couple of years for anything.”
The Warner Award is named in honor of Curt Warner, who was an all-state running back at Pineville High School before moving on to become an All-American at Penn State and an All-Pro with the Seattle Seahawks.
Rohrig will be recognized at the 77th annual Victory Awards Dinner on May 5, 2024 at River City in Wheeling.
In addition to Rohrig, other players who received votes for the Warner Award include Parkersburg South’s Gage Wright, Cabell Midland’s Curtis Jones, Hurricane’s Noah Vellathambi, Princeton’s Marquel Lowe, Tyler Consolidated’s Sean Winfrey, Cameron’s Klypson Wallace and Weir’s Corey Lyons.
BY CHRIS JOHNSON/Connect-Bridgeport
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