Rootstown High School

Rootstown High School is a public high school in Rootstown, Ohio, USA. It is the only high school in the Rootstown Local School District. Their nickname is the Rovers.

Background

The current school building is located on the north end of the Roostown Schools' campus and opened in 1966.^[1] It is named in honor of Ward W. Davis and serves around 450 students in grades 9-12. Rootstown High School offers a variety of academic and vocation programs to its students. Many of the vocational programs are available through the school's association with the Maplewood Joint Vocational School in Ravenna. Adjacent to the high school are several athletic fields, including: Robert C. Dunn Field (which opened in 1961, formerly called Rover Stadium, it includes a running track), a baseball field, and a softball field. The gymnasium at Rootstown High School is locally known as the "Rover Dome" and has been host to several local, conference, and state tournament basketball games and wrestling meets throughout the years.

Athletics

Rootstown High School athletic teams are known as the Rovers and the school colors are blue and white. All Rover athletic teams play their matches at Rootstown High School with a few exceptions: the bowling teams play their home matches at Twin Star Lanes while the golf team plays their home matches at the Kent State University Golf Course, both along SR 59 in Franklin Township, just east of Kent. Additionally, the cross country teams have their home meets at Towner's Woods, also in Franklin Township. Rootstown is a member of the Portage Trail Conference County Division, which it has been a member of since 2005. Prior to 2005, Rootstown was a member of the Portage County League. Rootstown fields the following varsity teams:

• Baseball
• Boys Basketball
• Girls Basketball
• Boys Bowling
• Girls Bowling
• Boys Cross Country
• Girls Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Boys Soccer
• Girls Soccer
• Softball
• Boys Track and Field
• Girls Track and Field
• Girls Volleyball
• Wrestling

Rootstown has had three state track champion individuals: Roger Dietz Sr. won the low and high hurdles in 1957; Ron Nipuelio won the 400-meters in 1990; and Josh Morgan won the 3200-meters in 1996.

Two Rover sports teams have been state semifinalists: the 1981 football team and the 2003 softball team.

Legend of the Rover

The first interpretation of the word Rover at Rootstown was the dog; a collie or German shepherd. In 1960 a new version of the mascot was adopted: the Rover that is defined as "a pirate, a wanderer, or a roamer" in Webster's Dictionary, The Rovers logo is a ship that is meant to symbolize the Norsemen.

This new version of the nickname came into existence in the early years of RHS sports. The Rovers did not have a facility in which to engage in competitive sporting activities, thus they would "wander and roam" to other schools for sports, pirating victories.

Victory Bell

Right next to the football field, there is a large brass bell mounted on a rolling platform. In the 1950s it was on a steam locomotive on the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, and it was donated to Portage County and used as a football championship trophy. From 1957 to 1962, Rootstown won the bell for six straight years, and it was permanently awarded to them. The bell still makes appearances at home football games, and is rung after a home victory.

Notable alumni

• Brian McClure (Class of 1982), former collegiate and professional football player
• Jessica Eye (Class of 2005), professional female mixed martial artist, fighting for the Women's UFC bantamweight division^[3]

External links

• District Website

Notes and references