WOODSFIELD — Trials and tribulations? Boy, Malachi Rose-Burton has more than his fair share of stories to tell in that regard.
The thing is, the Monroe Central senior quarterback has stared adversity in the eyes, defeating it at each turn. He eats up adversity the same way he does opposing defenses on fall Friday nights.
“As a freshman he was 5-foot-8, 135 pounds and we put him at quarterback because he was already the best athlete we had. It was really unfair to him at the time,” Seminoles coach Josh Ischy said. “He would be very hard on himself because he never lost games when he was coming up. So he went from being the best athlete on the field and not losing, then we really didn’t have a lot of talent around him that year.
“He thought it was his fault.”
As it turns out, those were just growing pains — both literally and figuratively. The next fall, however, those pains were very real.
“His sophomore year he gets hurt — tore his meniscus,” recalled Ischy, who himself starred at QB for the Seminoles under legendary coach Jay Circosta. “He’s just an athlete and basketball was probably his first love. The first prognosis was that he could play and wouldn’t risk hurting it worse, but then that changed and he ended up missing all of basketball season.
“That was a setback.’
But as they say, every setback is but a precursor to a comeback. And Rose-Burton came back with a vengeance.
“He’s always been mentally tough, but I was talking to our basketball coach (Jon Perkins) the other day, and we were talking about how Malachi has a more aggressive attitude and is more resilient,” Ischy said. “Now he’s that guy.
“Last year he had Alex Kilburn and Garet Cramer to kind of lean on. But this year it’s his team.”
That 5-8, 135-pound freshman is now 5-11 and some change, and weighs right around 180 pounds. He’s no longer absorbing hits, but rather delivering them when necessary. That’s if the defense can even get its hands on Rose-Burton, who has made a habit of extending plays with his legs.
“It’s why we’ve been competitive in most of our games,” Ischy said of the Seminoles, who are 4-4 — their Sept. 16 game vs. Buckeye Local was canceled — heading into Friday night’s regular-season finale at home against rival Shadyside. “As a senior and a leader the team feeds off him because he’s a resilient, upbeat kid.
“In practice I’m in the huddle with him calling the plays. When his number is called you can see the confidence in the eyes of the other 10 guys in that huddle.”
That confidence is warranted. Rose-Burton is one of the top players in the Ohio Valley and has the numbers to prove it. He’s thrown for 1,164 yards and 15 touchdowns while rushing for 1,275 yards and 20 more scores. For those keeping track, that’s 2,439 total yards and a combined 35 touchdowns.
And for sure, Rose-Burton is a big reason Monroe Central is thinking about the postseason. The Seminoles are ranked 10th in Ohio Division VII, Region 27 heading into the game, with the top-16 teams qualifying for the playoffs.
That’s some pretty remarkable territory for a team that doesn’t even have enough players to go 11-on-11 in practice, and started the season 1-3.
“We started two freshmen on the line (both guards), then we converted a skill position player to the line and we have a first-year senior playing on the line,” Ischy said. “That contributed to us getting into a slow start, but also River and Union Local are talented teams, and Caldwell is a physical bunch.
“Scoring points was never an issue. Defensively we’re always replacing guys wholesale every year and we don’t have a jayvee, so these guys don’t go through that. They have to learn in games and often times that comes in a loss.”
Sometimes star athletes can get full of themselves, but that’s not the case with Rose-Burton. According to Ischy, the quarterback is a 3.9 student and shows respect to everyone he comes in contact with. Rose-Burton works at Riesebeck’s on Sundays bagging groceries, meaning his only day off is Saturday, when he still manages to find time to watch Hudl film.
“I’ve been putting some stuff out there and there are some college coaches around, but not nearly enough in my opinion,” Ischy said. “I don’t know where he translates to the next level, but the kid is an athlete.
“He has ball skills, speed, agility. He’s a year-round athlete, so he has never had an offseason, so to speak, to just train.
“We don’t have a talent like this every year (at Monroe Central).”
Sounds like a little more adversity, doesn’t it? Malachi Rose-Burton is more than well-equipped to handle that.
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