Rockland’s Parrish plays a huge role on both ends of the court

ROCKLAND — The Rockland Bulldogs are undersized, even by 1A standards.

With just one player listed taller than 6-foot — 6-foot-3 Isaac Held — the Bulldogs (8-2, 2-0) are forced to defend bigger players, often much bigger, with smaller players. That is where Xavier Parrish comes in.

The junior point guard, and quarterback on the football team, is not just the offense’s trigger man, he is often asked to defend opposing post players out of pure necessity.

Head coach Shae Neal told EastIdahoSports.com that Parrish, listed at 6-foot, 155 pounds, is capable of defending players much bigger than him because he does a great job of using quickness to counter the size mismatch.

“He’s a very unique player because we can put him on the wing, we can put him on the top of our zones. We put him down low to rebound,” Neal added. “He’s just a huge pressence.”

Parrish made his pressence known last week, when he helped slow the then-undefeated Grace Lutheran Royals (7-1, 0-1). Along with Held, Parrish helped slow Grace Lutheran’s massive frontcourt of 6-foot-6 Garrett Grayson, 6-foot-5 Rylan Ward and 6-foot-4 Colin Serve.

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When Parrish and Held wer subbed out early in the fourth, Grayson erupted for seven straight points cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to single-digits.

Neal called the duo Rockland’s “anchor,” saying that when they are playing well, the Bulldogs run like “a well-oiled machine” on both ends of the court.

But Parrish’s impact isn’t only felt on defense. He is also tasked with initiating the team’s potent offense, and is more than capable up putting up his own points.

During his team’s victory over the Royals, Parrish put together a solid line — 10 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

On Saturday, Parrish nearly matched Leadore himself, offensively, scoring 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting (7-of-12 from 3-point range), as the Bulldogs topped the Mustangs 72-45.

Rockland brought a third-place trophy back from the state tournament last year and looks to improve upon that finish this season. Doing so will require Parrish continues playing the way he did last week.