Nordhoff’s Michael Dennie Leads Rangers Back to Playoffs After Record-Breaking Season
Joey Vergilis
OJAI, Calif. (KEYT) – On this week’s Walkthrough with Joey, Nordhoff’s standout junior quarterback Michael Dennie discussed the Rangers’ return to the postseason and the journey that got them there.
“It feels good,” Dennie said. “It’s kind of a relief that we’re finally here. It feels like the season’s gone by really fast. But now that we’re here, we’re just preparing for Buena Park.”
It’s been a breakout year for both Dennie and the Rangers, who bounced back strong after an early setback.
“We’ve been working really hard,” he said. “We had that first loss, we thought we were going to win, we under-prepared, and after that, we didn’t really let that happen again. This year’s been going by really fast for us, and we don’t want it to end. We want to go all the way, and we’re going to make sure it happens.”
Dennie’s season hit a high point in Week 9 when he set the Nordhoff single-game passing record with 504 yards and six touchdowns in a dominant win over Carpinteria.
For most players, shattering two school records in one game would be a night to remember, but for Nordhoff’s rising junior gunslinger, it was just another Friday under the lights.
“That night, it was just like any other,” Dennie recalled. “We prepared for it, did our thing before the game. We had our running back, Desi Canfield, out that week, so I knew I’d have to step up. My guys were making plays out there and helping me out a lot. I wasn’t going for stats, I just wanted to win. I didn’t even know I broke the record until I got taken out in the fourth and somebody told me.”
For Dennie, there’s something special about every home game under the lights in Ojai.
“When I’m there, I like to look around before the game, like, ‘This is what I’m fighting for,’” the 6-foot, 170-pound signal caller said. “I love the scenery. When we’re out there playing, you can just look around, we’ve got the meadows right next to us. Hopefully soon we’ll have our new stadium up, and it’s going to be real fun next year.”
Before every Friday night, Dennie keeps things simple with his tight end, Elliot Sheets.
“Me and Elliot like to go to Subway, get our sandwiches, then head back to my house,” Dennie said. “We’ll watch some film, relax, make sure our bodies are right before the game.”
After a record-breaking regular season, junior QB Michael Dennie has the Rangers dreaming big.
The first step in that dream happens tonight in Round 1 of the CIF-SS Division 13 playoffs, when the Rangers head to Orange County to take on the Buena Park Coyotes at 7 p.m.