‘He brings a lot to the team’

ROYAL CITY – Seen running down the football field at Royal High School is senior Edgar De La Rosa, a six-foot, four-and-a-half-inch receiver/linebacker who has helped lead the Knights to impressive victories throughout the 2022 season.

In his second year as a starter for Royal, De La Rosa said he leaves it all out on the field, every play.

“Just playing with urgency, playing to the whistle, and just going 110% every time,” De La Rosa said. “I feel like I transitioned well from last year to this year, so I feel like if I keep doing that we’ll be pretty successful as a team.”

In Royal’s regular season, the senior receiver amassed 627 yards and 10 touchdowns on 38 receptions. He uses his frame to snag away 50-50 passes, something that he had demonstrated at off-season camps.

“He had 50-50 balls against some of the bigger school kids, and some really good athletes, and he won all of them,” Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. “He’s the kind of kid that can get it, his catch radius is big and he goes and finds the football and secures it on offense and defense.”

De La Rosa added that the confidence that he brings to the field helps him as a competitor, knowing that he has the skills to succeed.

“I just know that I’m taller than most corners that I go up against,” De La Rosa said. “I’m a very confident person and I know that any person that lines up against me is gonna have a tough time.”

Beginning playing flag football at the age of 6, De La Rosa said he found his love of the game when he began playing tackle football.

“My dad put me in it, and I started loving it,” he said. “Truly, I started loving it when I was nine when I started playing tackle football. I just loved hitting people, loved making plays and all that stuff.”

De La Rosa said he originally played quarterback before playing in high school, but a growth spurt brought in the possibility of playing receiver.

“Freshman year I transitioned to a receiver,” he said. “I got a little taller, I got faster and I just felt like receiver was a better position for me, I could use my height to my advantage.”

Now doubling as a defender, past experiences as a quarterback helped his play on the field in the defensive front seven.

“Quarterback, you have to know everything,” De La Rosa said. “Knowing a quarterback, what they’re looking for in receivers, looking for their star receiver and then work down, it mostly transitioned for defense.”

De La Rosa’s current quarterback, Royal senior Dylan Allred, said that his receiver brings “a lot” to the team on both sides of the ball.

“He runs the best routes I've ever seen on the seam,” Dylan Allred said. “He’s definitely just a weapon, he’s got great hands. Brings a lot to us offensively, and then defensively he’s done a great job of moving positions. He brings a lot to the team.”

The senior quarterback, who is in his first year as a varsity starter for the Knights, said that he and De La Rosa spent time in the off-season working with one another, playing catch to improve their game.

“Being able to show that on the field has been really fun this season,” Dylan Allred said.

Off-season work attracted the attention of his head coach, who selected De La Rosa as one of the captains for the Knights this season. Wiley Allred said players chosen as team captains are those who use the off-season to work on their craft.

“He’s a captain on our team and one of the guys that a lot of the younger guys look up to,” Wiley Allred said. “He’s trying to help lead this team, along with we have a really good senior group. He’s just friends with everybody.”

For his strides made as a player, De La Rosa has started to receive interest from colleges around the state and the western United States. Recently, he made the trip to Pullman for an unofficial visit at Washington State during its game against Utah on Oct. 27.

“It was pretty good,” De La Rosa said. “A big college, it’s definitely a cool experience. Pete Kaligis, the assistant head coach, he was a pretty cool guy and we got to tour the facility. I liked the community around there. Small town, just all that stuff.”

During a visit to Eastern Washington, De La Rosa said he enjoyed the community of Cheney.

“Definitely a small community. I feel like they treat everybody as a big family,” De La Rosa said. “That really stuck out to me because it’s similar to Royal City, I feel like that was pretty cool.”

Even with attention from Division 1 programs, the senior receiver still aims to improve his game as the Knights prepare for another playoff run. He said that one of his more underrated skill sets is his ability as a blocker.

“Yeah, I like to block,” he said with a smile. “I just feel like that’s part of my game I get underlooked for. Blocking’s one of those underrated things, but I love blocking – I just like taking people to the ground.”

The physicality of being an efficient blocker as a receiver speaks on what De La Rosa most enjoys about football.

“I love the physicality,” he said. “It really gets me motivated, just to hit people and play with my teammates. Those are the two things that motivate me.”

Recently, De La Rosa was moved from safety to outside linebacker, where the senior can use his physicality to even more of an advantage.

“He’s an aggressive kid, so we use him at outside backer now,” Allred said. “He kind of plays a role where there’s a lot of different things that we can do with that kid. On offense, I think one out of every three catches is a touchdown.”

During the regular season, De La Rosa had three multi-touchdown games, including the season opener at Toppenish (3), on the eroad at Kiona-Benton City (2) and at home against College Place (3). Against the Hawks, he hauled in a 20-yard catch-and-run after scoring touchdowns on two punt returns before the Knight offense even took the field.

“I don’t take too much into account, but it definitely looks good on the stat sheet,” De La Rosa joked. “I feel like Dylan throws me good balls, I’m going to catch them. If he throws it anywhere my way, I’m going to catch it.”

Once football season ends, De La Rosa will prepare for a senior season with Royal baseball, where he plays pitcher and third base. He’s played baseball since he was five years old, he said.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.