NEW WILMINGTON — Jake Rocco didn't have much of a senior football season at Seneca Valley — before or after.

The Raiders' left guard suffered a broken leg on the first day of summer camp in 2017 and missed the entire regular season. He returned to play in a high school all-star game in late spring, only to tear his ACL a few plays into that game.

“It was rough,” Rocco recalled. “The biggest concern was not having any senior tape for colleges. But I went to a lot of local camps beforehand and had sent film out to coaches.

“It came down to Westminster or John Carroll (Ohio) for me. I liked the educational opportunity at Westminster And it was cheaper for me to go there. It was a no-brainer.”

And Rocco has more than made up for lost time with the Titans, despite missing his freshman season due to a joint infection as a result of surgery on his torn ACL.

He wound up starting 32 games at Westminster — all at right tackle — including all 22 games his junior and senior years. Westminster won its first two Presidents' Athletic Conference championships during those seasons.

“Jake turned into an anchor on our line,” Westminster offensive line coach Dylan Hogue said. “He became so fundamentally sound. His technique was outstanding.”

Titans head coach Scott Benzel said the timing of Rocco's knee injury was unfortunate “because when you get hurt in an all-star game, there's not enough time to rehab for the following season. But he stuck with it and became a real mainstay up front for us.”

Rocco allowed only two quarterback sacks during his college career. His blocking graded out at 93.5% his senior year.

“I'm pretty proud of that,” Rocco said of allowing only two sacks. “I can remember both of them, though.”

Westminster won 31 games and lost only 13 during Rocco's four seasons. He earned second team CoSIDA Academic All-American honors this season, sporting a 4.0 grade point average while studying for his masters in education.

Rocco graduated with a degree in history the previous year.

While he has a goal of being a teacher and football coach, Rocco has a head start in that regard.

He is a full-time seventh-grade geography teacher in the Franklin Area School District and may be coaching eighth-grade football there next fall.

“We have a couple of guys on our coaching staff who are full-time teachers and they put out a lot of calls in the area,” Benzel said. “They helped Jake land what was originally a substitute teaching job that turned into a full-time position.

“We weren't 100 percent sure we'd get him back this season, but he never missed a practice. He stayed committed to our football team while working full-time and studying for his masters. That was cool. It was a special thing.

“It's a credit to Jake and his family ... just tremendous work ethic,” Benzel added. “He was a big part of our two conference championships.”

Rocco's teaching schedule made for a busy fall this year.

“I'd be at Franklin at 7:30 a.m. and teach until 3,” Rocco recalled. “I'd get to football practice around 3:40, then stay after practice a couple of days a week to watch film with the other offensive linemen.

“I'd do my (masters) studies at night, usually until 9 or so. I learned time management the previous year when I was doing my student teaching.

“Going through that schedule every day ... It sucked, but I knew it would benefit me in the long run,” Rocco added.

His efforts weren't lost on the Westminster coaching staff.

“Jake challenged himself academically here,” Hogue said. “He put in the time to make it all work. He showed what being a true student-athlete is all about.”

Rocco admitted he wasn't ready to give up on football despite missing consecutive seasons while dealing with those injuries.

He's still not planning on giving up the game anytime soon.

“When I was doing rehab, I vowed I was coming back to play,” he said. “I didn't know if I'd ever start (at Westminster), but I was going to be part of the team. That all worked out.

“My long -term goal now is to coach at the college level someday, either as a head coach, offensive coordinator, line coach, whatever. It's a matter of time for me to make that happen.

“I've been playing football for 17 years. It's a big part of my life. I want it to stay that way.”