Q&A with Rolesville High School football head coach Ranier Rackley

Rolesville High School football head coach Ranier Rackley talks to Wake Weekly about the Rams' Oct. 18 35-0 victory over Millbrook and the conclusion of the season.

Wake Weekly sports editor Joey Ellsworth: What do you think about the win over Millbrook?

Rackley: It was fun. The boys had a lot of energy throughout the week and it paid off in the game. I told my boys, 'Don't get too caught up in the name of a school or a team.' Just be confident in who you are.' That was shown on Friday.

WW: What was it like for Millbrook to record their first loss of the year?

Rackley: We knew what we had to do. During my preparation I had complete confidence in my coaching staff and my players. It felt good to give them their first L, but we can't get complacent. Let's move on and do what we need to do for the rest of the season.

WW: You lost to the impressive Grimsley in your second game of the season and are now ranked 6th in the state. How did you recover from the early defeat?

Rackley: Just by talking to my boys. At the beginning of the season we had the goal in mind of becoming No. 1. No. 1 team in the state,” and I told my boys that we didn’t do anything to be No. 1. We lost against a team like Grimsley but I felt we missed a lot. It was week two again. If it were week eight, things would be different. We learned a lot from this game and got better every week.

WW: What goes through your mind when there are only three games left?

Rackley: It's crazy. It goes by quickly. It felt like just yesterday we were at team camp. Now it's over and there are only three weeks until the start of the playoffs. The focus is on getting better week after week and seeing how things go leading up to the playoffs.

WW: Braden Atkinson is arguably doing better than anyone else in the conference this year. What do you think about its impact?

Rackley: You say the conference, but I say the state. (Atkinson) the lights are out. It's sentimental that there may only be three more games and then the playoffs. That's it for him. Me and this boy have been together for a long time, but at the moment he is playing good football.

WW: You can't talk about (Atkinson's) success without mentioning Gavin Waddell, Jaedon Alford and Anthony Roberts. Can you talk about that receiving core?

Rackley: Those guys helped (Atkinson) take his game to this height, but having a great quarterback like him who can put the ball in certain positions that a defensive back or linebacker can't helps those players differentiate. This is a young, talented group that has been there together for three or four years. I'm excited to see how the rest of the season goes with these guys. Especially (Waddell) and (Roberts). (Waddell) has one year left and (Roberts) has two years left. The fact that these guys are getting better every week is kind of scary. I'm excited to see these guys grow.

WW: How would you like to end the year? Is there anything specific you want to work on?

Rackley: I've just finished. For the last two/three years we have reached the crucial point of the third/fourth round of the playoffs and failed to finish. I feel like it's championship or bust now. The goal is to finish, so that's my focus.

WW: Are you currently focused on the playoffs?

Rackley: No, I'm just focused on getting better week by week. The thing I tell my boys is to play Rolesville football. When we get involved in futuristic things, we can't play in the now. That's why we need to focus on now and worry about the rest last.

WW: As the season comes to an end and some players leave, how would you like your team and the fans it brings with it to be remembered?

Rackley: Impact and how we coped. Everyone wants to lift that trophy and I feel like this is a good group of guys. I said, even when these seniors were now freshmen, that this is a great senior class we have in the Class of 25. I feel like these guys have a great chance to pull through and the best payoff is to win the whole thing.

WW: What's it like to have a player like Riley Daniels who dominates two sports, leads the entire conference in almost every football stat, and gets two onside kicks on Friday for this program?

Rackley: I say this with the utmost respect for our guys… (Daniels) is the best athlete on our team. I can't thank Riley enough for doing what he does, which is playing two or three football games a week and then playing at a high level for us on Friday nights. He's a great kid on and off the field. I'm happy to have him with me next year too.

WW: What do you think about the match against Knightdale?

Rackley: Play Rolesville Ball. We just go out there and do what we need to do to come out victorious.