Alex Rotsko retires as Marshwood’s football coach

 Coach Alex Rotsko led Marshwood to six state championships. The veteran coach, who won 11 Western Massachusetts titles before coming to Maine, has retired. (Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer) [](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7239880474&iu=/6119) _High school sports coverage is proudly supported by **[Maine State Credit Union](http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=7239880474&iu=/6119).**_  Alex Rotsko said he fully hoped to coach football for a 50th season. But staring down another year with barely 30 players in his Marshwood High program, one of the most successful high school football coaches in New England history decided it was time to retire. “I’m sure I will miss it. I like doing it, number one, and I really like the kids I have on the team,” Rotsko said Thursday evening. “Maybe it’s just ego. I don’t know. But I just don’t want to be in a situation where you have to cancel most of your JV schedule for a third year in a row.” Rotsko led the Hawks to six Class B championships in seven seasons from 2014-21 and compiled an overall record of 107-37 in 13 seasons at the South Berwick school. Marshwood remained competitive in Class B South the past three seasons, with records of 5-5, 5-5 and 6-4, and last fall lost a regional semifinal against eventual state champion Westbrook, 15-12, with about 25 players dressed for the game. “One of the reasons I waited so long to make a decision was because the kids we had last year were outstanding and I think we have nine starters back on defense,” said Rotsko, who will turn 73 on Saturday. “If we had 40 kids on the team (for 2026), I wouldn’t have even thought about stepping down. This year would have been my last year. But I had made it clear to the athletic director and the boosters that I didn’t want to go through another season with 30 kids.” Rotsko said he had hoped Marshwood would be able to develop a football co-op with either Traip Academy of Kittery or Berwick Academy, a private school in South Berwick. Both of those schools have co-op agreements with Marshwood in some other sports. Advertisement When it became apparent that the participation in football was not going to increase, Rotsko made the decision to retire. [Rotsko was already well established](https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/14/football-marshwoods-coach-has-had-nothing-but-success/) as one of the top high school football coaches in New England when he took over at Marshwood in 2012. He led Longmeadow High to 15 straight Western Massachusetts championship games from 1997-2011, winning 11 times. His 184-39 record from 1993-2011 included a 47-game winning streak. In his first season in Maine, he took the Hawks to the state title game after inheriting a team that had gone 2-6 and had missed the playoffs for a third straight season. “From a personal standpoint that was validation, maybe,” Rotsko said. He quickly drew praise from opposing coaches, and that continued throughout his stay at Marshwood. “He made everybody a better coach,” said Kennebunk’s Keith Noel. “I learned a lot from him, studying his team. If you were in Class B, if you weren’t prepared, he was definitely going to win.” Advertisement Rotsko, who played football at Springfield College, got his first coaching job as an assistant at Hamilton-Wenham High in Massachusetts. After two years there, he shifted to college and was an assistant at Ithaca and American International College before taking over as AIC’s head coach. In 10 seasons as a college head coach, he was 52-46-3. When he came to Marshwood, the once-proud Hawks, who had won 16 state titles under Rod Wotton from 1966-89, were a struggling program. After a narrow loss to Mt. Blue in the 2012 state final, the Hawks began their dominant run by winning back-to-back titles in 2014-15, then three straight from 2017-19. After the COVID-canceled 2020 season, they earned a fourth straight championship in 2021 in dramatic fashion. The Hawks were 71-11 over those seven seasons, with perfect 12-0 seasons in 2014 and 2017. The 2019 team was loaded with standout players, including fullback/linebacker [Justin Bryant, the James J. Fitzpatrick Trophy](https://www.pressherald.com/2020/01/26/marshwood-highs-justin-bryant-wins-49th-annual-fitzpatrick-trophy/) winner as Maine’s top senior. The Hawks went 11-1, losing only to [Class A Thornton Academy](https://www.pressherald.com/2019/09/14/football-thornton-rallies-edges-marshwood-in-battle-of-champions/), 28-27, in the season opener. “I loved him so much. He was more than a coach. He was a mentor to all of us,” said Bryant, 23, now in the Marine Corps and stationed at the Navy flight school in Pensacola, Florida. “Like a father figure. He really developed our character on and off the field.” Bryant said Rotsko set the example for his players with his attention to detail, planning, and ability to communicate clearly.  Advertisement “He always expected the most from us and he always gave his all at all times,” Bryant said. The 2021 championship was a bit unexpected. Marshwood finished third in Class B South in the regular season with a 5-3 record and lost soundly to No. 1 Portland and No. 2 Kennebunk. In the playoffs, the Hawks avenged both of those losses, including a shocking 35-0 win against previously unbeaten Portland in the regional final. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/11/27558683_20211120_class.b.football_4030.jpg) Marshwood players surround head coach Alex Rotsko in a celebratory dance after winning the Class B state championship against Windham. [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2021%5C%2F11%5C%2F27558683_20211120_class.b.football_4030-1637451628.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Marshwood%20players%20surround%20head%20coach%20Alex%20Rotsko%20in%20a%20celebratory%20dance%20after%20winning%20the%20Class%20B%20state%20championship%20against%20Windham.%20%22%7D) In the state championship game against Windham, Rotsko opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 from Marshwood’s own 9, leading to a drive that ate up the final 10 minutes and 24 seconds in a [14-13 win](https://www.pressherald.com/2021/11/20/football-marshwood-edges-windham-to-capture-4th-straight-class-b-title/). Marshwood volunteer football coach Al Robertshaw was on Rotsko’s staff for the final 12 seasons and had also been a player and coach under Wotton in Marshwood’s other stretch of dominance that was capped by [an undefeated 1989 Class A title](https://www.pressherald.com/2024/09/26/remember-when-marshwood-shocked-the-class-a-football-ranks-with-its-perfect-1989-season/). Robertshaw summed up Rotsko’s style in two words: “On task.” “He’s dedicated to the game, to play it the right way, to do the right things,” Robertshaw said. At their best, Rotsko-coached teams were precise and extremely productive on offense, with balance between the run and pass. Noel said Rotsko was a master of the Wing-T offense and a daring play-caller. On the sidelines, Rotsko was cool and composed, focused intently on getting the next best play for his team to run. “He knows his job is to get us ready and make sure we’re as prepared as we can be, and leaves the getting pumped up to the players,” is how former player Kyle Glidden put it prior to the [2017 championship game that Marshwood won 63-20](https://www.pressherald.com/2017/11/18/football-marshwood-back-on-top-in-class-b/) against Skowhegan. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [marshwood hawks](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/marshwood-hawks/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig) [Steve CraigStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig) Steve Craig reports primarily about Maine’s active high school sports scene and, more recently, the Portland Hearts of Pine men's professional soccer team. His first newspaper job was covering Maine. [More by Steve Craig](https://www.pressherald.com/author/steve-craig)