QB Roche commits to Fighting Saints

Mac Roche played only one game for the

Bulldogs last year, but that was all he needed to define his

potential as a collegiate quarterback.

The senior signal-caller tossed three

touchdown strikes against Havre in the first 12 minutes of

Whitefish’s 2010 season-opener, including bombs of 28, 67 and 38

yards. But just as he was getting warmed up for a career season,

his time on the turf abruptly ended.

At the start of the second quarter,

Roche scrambled toward the sideline on a quarterback zone lead

right. He easily picked up three yards, but as he cut back up the

field in an effort to gain a few more — classic Roche grit on full

display — three Havre tacklers hit him from all sides.

Roche knew he tweaked his foot on

impact but shook off the stinging pain and proceeded to finish out

the game. The next day, an MRI revealed stress fractures in his

left foot, enough to sideline the gun-slinger for the remainder of

the year.

Yet, Carroll College head football

coach Mike Van Diest, who was in the stands at Havre that

afternoon, had seen all he needed. Roche was his “diamond in the

rough.”

Earlier this month, Roche signed to

play football with Carroll College in Helena. The Fighting Saints

are six-time NAIA champions on the gridiron, most recently knocking

off Sioux Falls 10-7 in this year’s national championship game.

Saints coach Mike Van Diest said they

went after Roche predominantly based on his 2009 performance and

that first half against Havre.

“We watched him as a junior,” Van Diest

told the Pilot. “We knew he was all-conference, and we knew a lot

about him from his coaches. Then I saw him play in that ball game

against Havre and was impressed with his skill level. He showed

that he’s very mobile and keeps plays alive with his feet.”

The Saints’ offensive coordinator, Nick

Howlett, likes Roche’s throwing mechanics and says he will fit

right into their offensive schemes. Van Diest compared Roche to the

Saints’ 2010 quarterback, Gary Wagner.

“I like Mac’s attitude and

personality,” the coach said. “He has that quarterback temperament.

I think he’ll fit into our system nicely.”

Whitefish football coach Chad Ross

calls Roche a natural leader in the huddle and points to his

willingness to help out on the sideline this season after his

injury.

“He could have packed it in,” Ross

said. “But he came in every day and helped [quarterback] Connor

[Donahue] get to where he’s at.”

Ross thinks Roche has a good future

ahead of him.

“He’s going to be very successful at

Carroll,” he said. “It’s a great fit for him.”

Roche decided to sign with Carroll not

long after he broke his foot. The other colleges interested in his

arm, including Montana State and the University of Montana, fell

off the radar after the injury, but Van Diest kept in contact.

“Carroll was the one school that kept

going after me the whole time,” Roche said. “Coach Van Diest saw me

break my foot and play through it, and he still really wanted me to

play for him. It’s nice to be wanted.”

Playing football, particularly

quarterback, was instilled in Roche at a young age. His father,

William Roche, always plowed the backyard so the two could play

catch through the winter.

In school-yard pick-up games, Roche was

always the quarterback, and it was the same in middle school. He

was handed the ball for the Bulldogs’ varsity team as a sophomore

and put up all-conference numbers as a junior. It’s easy to imagine

what his senior year could have been if he had stayed healthy.

Roche is a little nervous but mostly

excited about the chance to play for the heralded Saints, and he

says he’s prepared for the pressure.

“Carroll’s a great program,” he said.

“It’ll be a pressure situation, and a lot depends on the

quarterback, but in their system, I think I can go in and have a

good career.”

Roche says his ability as a leader in

the huddle comes from his father, and he thinks it will translate

to the collegiate level with a little work.

“I try to model after my dad and try to

be the best man I can,” he said. “I’ll go to college, work as hard

as I can and try to earn the respect of the other players. It

starts with proving that you can do it on the field, then you have

to be the vocal leader.”

Roche joins his older brother, Willie,

who is on Carroll’s track team, along with two cousins who will

play for the Saints’ football team. And Daniel Simmons, a 2009

Whitefish graduate and running back, recently transferred to play

football with Carroll.

It’s likely Roche will redshirt his

freshman season. He’s unsure what he’ll study, but he’s considering

education.