Rory Rosenbach, the former Union football coach and AD, is now the athletic director at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish. Glacier Peak was in town Friday, facing Evergreen, which gave Rosenbach a chance to return to McKenzie Stadium. Photo by Mike Schultz

The former Union football coach and athletic director is now the AD at Glacier Peak

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Football sure does have a way of bringing everyone together again.

True, the 2023 football schedule was made long before Rory Rosenbach took the job as the athletic director at Glacier Peak High School in Snohomish.

That football schedule, though, was just another added benefit to taking the job.

As AD at GP, Rosenbach knew that in Week 4, he would have a chance to come back to Clark County.

On Friday, the former Union Titans head coach made the most of his return.

First, he got to watch his former team with another opportune scheduling quirk. The Union Titans played the early game at Battle Ground’s District Stadium, taking on Prairie. His new team, Glacier Peak, was set to play the late game at McKenzie Stadium, taking on Evergreen.

So there was Rosenbach in Battle Ground. And later, there was Rosenbach in Vancouver. And in between, he was on the phone dealing with athletic administrator duties, trying to figure out a transportation issue. One of Glacier Peak’s buses bringing the football team to Clark County had broken down in Kelso.

By the end of the night, his Titans won, his Grizzlies won, and, we hope, all of Glacier Peak’s players had a ride home.

“It’s the same job as it was down here,” Rosenbach said of being the athletic director at Glacier Peak.

With one huge exception.

“I just don’t get to go out and practice with these guys every day,” he said, pointing at the Grizzlies.

For most of his time at Union, he was the head coach and the athletic director.

Now at GP, he’s just the AD.

This is the first time since 1999 that Rosenbach has not been a football coach.

“Thankfully I’ve been so busy with the job and trying to get my life established up there,” Rosenbach said. “It’s been good that I haven’t had a lot of time to think about, or I probably would be missing it more than I do. But definitely on Friday nights, you just want to get a little more involved.”

Rory Rosenbach was all smiles in this 2018 picture when he coached the Union Titans to a perfect season and a Class 4A state championship. Rosenbach, now the AD at Glacier Peak, returned to Vancouver on Friday to watch the Grizzlies face Evergreen. Photo by Mike Schultz

These days, as an administrator roaming the sideline area in front of his school’s crowd, Rosenbach can walk closer to the end zones than he could when he was a coach. As a coach, he had to stop at the 25-yard line. As AD, he can go all the way toward the line of scrimmage. Or he can see where, exactly, the ball is spotted and yell back at the coaches to say just how far it is to get a first down.

Earlier in the evening, he was simply a guest at District Stadium. A VIP guest, but a guest nonetheless.

“Super fun. I saw Coach (Kevin) Coad out there, overseeing everything. It was really neat,” Rosenbach said. “It was emotional and really cool. Those are my guys.”

Rosenbach was there until midway through the fourth quarter. Union had a two-score lead, and he had to get to Vancouver in time for Glacier Peak’s game against Evergreen.

He also was able to tell the GP football staff just what to expect at McKenzie Stadium.

“You know, the spacious, luxurious locker room situation,” Rosenbach said, dripping with sarcasm.

McKenzie Stadium is not known for its locker space. Everything else about it, Rosenbach said, is special.

“We had some fun in here,” Rosenbach said.

Such as rallying from 14 points down in the second half to beat Puyallup in Week 5 of the 2018 season. Then doing it again — yes, a 14-point deficit — against the same team, but in the state semifinals that year.

A week later, Union and Rosenbach won a state championship in Tacoma.

But before the Tacoma Dome, there was McKenzie Stadium.

“This is a cool stadium,” Rosenbach said. “It has such a cool feel to it. It’s fun to be back.”

Notes: Mountain View held off Hanford 37-31 in the first game at McKenzie Stadium on Friday. In the second game, Glacier Peak got the best of Evergreen 21-0. … Mountain View and Evergreen will open Class 3A Greater St. Helens League play next week against each other. Clark County Today will post profiles on a player from each team next week. … There were a couple of eye-opening results in the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League on Friday night. Hudson’s Bay improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in league play with a 28-24 victory at Ridgefield. And Columbia River held off Woodland to pick up its first win of the season.