It may not be the tallest or lengthiest group, nor the most experienced. Still, the W.F. West High School boys basketball team isn’t shying away from its own expectations.
“Everybody contributed in a lot of ways,” head coach Chris White said. “It’ll take some time to grow and develop, but it is heading the right way.”
Spurred by 18 points from sophomore Wyatt Hoffman, 16 by Fox Rogerson and a significant rebound advantage, the Bearcats led wire-to-wire on Monday night in beating Rochester 64-41 at home to begin the 2025-26 campaign.
Gone is the production of first team all-league kids Grady Westlund and Weston Potter plus the leadership provided by Gage Brumfield and Carlos Vallejo. Only Rogerson, Gage Grisham and Alex Stafford are seniors this winter.
The roster is junior-laden, paced by Race Rockey – who came down with a game-high 14 rebounds – and Hayden Rooney.
“We’re really happy what he is bringing to the table,” White said.
Rockey got the majority of the boards, but everyone else contributed. Rooney, Hoffman, Rogerson and 6-foot-5 post Cody Schwarz all grabbed at least five. Schwarz is coming off a football injury and hadn’t practiced much prior to tip off.
The thought of going with a two-big lineup with Rockey and Schwarz intrigued White afterwards.
“Could be interesting,” he said. “It is fun to think about.”
The Bearcats (1-0) mixed in some zone, man-to-man and press defense throughout the night. They forced Rochester into 22 turnovers and got a handful of buckets in transition.
W.F. West made at least five field goals in every stanza. It led by six after one, doubled the margin at half and continued to pour in points, getting the lead to as big as 23 points in the final frame.
“They shared the ball well; we could have executed some of our stuff better, but it is early (in the) season,” White said. “All-in-all, a good learning night.”
The Warriors (0-1) played five freshmen, a sophomore and a quartet of seniors. Tyson Canales led the way with 10 points and Isaac Derrick added eight. They didn’t score until the 4 minute, 5 second mark of the first quarter.
Assistant head coach Kyle Ratkie manned the clipboard in place of Caleb Sells. Ratkie believes his group will settle into a rhythm by league play.
“Just continue to grow,” Ratkie said. “Find different rotations and kids are learning different spots. Once these kids get a little more experience playing the speed of the game… hopefully press more.”
With a younger group, Rochester’s staff is willing to accept some early season growing pains. It will face a District 4 foe in King’s Way Christian on the road on Wednesday before playing its home opener on Friday.
Meanwhile, W.F. West takes on Mountain View at home on Wednesday night.
“Take a collective breath and halfway through the season, you’ll see a different team,” Ratkie said.
