Three Cheyenne-area families and their three sons plan a reunion on Saturday, but it will be in Jamestown, North Dakota, and centered around a pigskin and 100 yards of turf.
For many years, football had been the glue that brought these parents and sons together, beginning in junior high and then at Cheyenne Central High School.
After a few seasons apart, the University of Jamestown joining the NCAA Division II as part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, where Northern State University plays, has made the reunion possible.
Northern State is in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
So, in the final game of the regular season for both teams, Bryan Pedersen said his son Brock, and former high school teammates Xander Jarosh and Richard Prescott, will all be in uniform and on the field.
Brock Pedersen and Richard Prescott play for Northern State, while Xander Jarosh plays for Jamestown.
“We’re all headed up there to watch our sons be on the same field again after so many years together in high school,” he said. “They might be on opposing sides of the ball, but it’s a fun adventure.”
“All” includes Pedersen, who runs a wealth management business, and his wife, Sara; Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Rob Jarosh and his wife, Kathy; and Steven and Stephanie Prescott. Prescott is a Cheyenne real estate broker.
Also making the trip are high school student-athletes Dane Pedersen and Konrad Prescott, both invited by the University of Jamestown Jimmies football program to check out the school.
For parents and players, the weekend will be something memorable, no matter what the final score reads.
“We are thrilled that Northern State is going to be in Jamestown this weekend,” Rob Jarosh said. “We are looking forward to hosting the Pedersens and the Prescotts and showing them the university where Xander has played football for the last four years. I am just excited to see the boys on the same field again.”
The University of Jamestown Jimmies are hosting Northern State University on Saturday. (Courtesy University of Jamestown) 
Members of the Northern State University will travel to the University of Jamestown Saturday for the final game of the season. (Courtesy Northern State University) 
Three former Cheyenne high school buddies and teammates will take to the college football field Saturday as their families reunite to watch in the stands. This time, the former teammates and close friends will be rivals on the field. They are, from left, Brock Peterson, Xander Jarosh, and Richard Prescott.
Full Circle
Rob Jarosh said it has been four years since the trio played together at Central, where they formed their bonds. So, even if they are on “opposite sides of the field on Saturday, they will have that special brotherhood bond they formed at Central.”
Steve Prescott said, from his view, “it’s really cool to see everything come together full circle.”
“I can guarantee that the thing they are looking forward to is being on the field together again and just having that opportunity to play on the same field,” he said.
For two of the athletes, the game will get up close and personal. Richard Prescott, a redshirt freshman, starts at wide receiver on offense for Northern State University, while Xander Jarosh, a senior academically but a redshirt junior cornerback in terms of athletic eligibility, is likely to line up against him. Brock Pedersen, a redshirt freshman, is a backup kicker for Northern State.
Richard Prescott, 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, and Xander Jarosh, 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, said in high school, they typically both played defense until Prescott’s senior year when he moved to the wideout position.
“We were double teaming dudes, it was fun,” Richard Prescott said.
But this Saturday, the pair will be facing each other. And both are looking forward to the challenge.
“I am hyped, it’s going to be an absolute blast,” Richard Prescott said. “It’s going to be weird for sure, but it is just going to create that extra level of competition between us, and I know we are best boys off the field, but on the field, it’s going to be a little different. I am excited for it.”
Ditto for Xander Jarosh, who is planning to return to the university for graduate studies in the Master of Business Administration program next year and take advantage of one more year of college football eligibility.
“There are not a lot of college football players that come out of Cheyenne, especially Cheyenne Central,” he said. “So, to be able to have not only one but two teammates on the sideline is going to be pretty special.”
Pre-Game Prep
Xander Jarosh said he has kept in touch with his former teammates, and since the Jimmies joined the same conference this year, he and Richard Prescott have talked on most Mondays about their most recent games and opponents.
As they approached the game on Saturday, they agreed to cut back on communication until after the final score.
“He’s going to be lining up on the left side of the line of scrimmage, and so when I go out there, I’m going to try and make sure that I am on his side at corner when he is a receiver. We are just going to go from there, and it’s going to be a battle, and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Xander Jarosh said.
Richard Prescott said he knows how his friend plays and thinks that will work out to his and his team’s advantage.
“Our offense is really good for the type of defense that they run,” he said. “We have a good game plan for it going in, and it’s going to be fun,” he said.
Richard Prescott said, in addition to the game, it will also be great to see each other’s families. He said he hasn’t seen Jarosh’s family since his senior year in Cheyenne, and though he was close in high school to Brock Pedersen’s dad, he hasn’t really communicated with him recently.
“I just think it’s going to be fun to get the families back together,” he said.
For Brock Pedersen, a redshirt freshman, his role as backup kicker likely means he won’t see playing time, but he is looking forward to seeing Jarosh and experiencing the game with his friends.
As the youngest of the trio, Brock Pedersen was a freshman in high school when Richard Prescott was a sophomore and Xander Jarosh a junior. His sophomore year on the high school football team was a memorable one.
“I remember Xander was my favorite senior, and I looked up to him a lot. He was a really good leader,” he said. “There are a lot of photos on my phone of the three of us traveling to games across Wyoming, and this is going to be a special game, and I am really excited to see them.”
The Pedersen family is looking forward to this weekend. They include from left, Ea, Dane, Sarah, Bryan, Brant, and Brock. (Courtesy Bryan Pedersen) 
The Jarosh family is looking forward to the reunion on Saturday. From left are Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Rob Jarosh, Addi Jarosh, Xander Jarosh, Kir Newcomer, Xander’s girlfriend, and Kathy Jarosh. (Courtesy Bryan Pedersen) 
Richard Prescott, his dad Steve, and Brock Pedersen celebrate after a game. (Courtesy Bryan Pederse) 
Members of the Northern State and University of Jamestown football teams visited Cheyenne Frontier Days at the invitation of Bryan Pedersen, center, this summer. (Courtesy Bryan Pedersen)
Special Opportunity
And both Brock Pedersen’s younger brother, Dane, also a kicker, and Richard Prescott’s younger brother, Konrad, a linebacker, are going to get to be on the field as the Jimmies warm up and get a tour of the university.
Both older brothers say they are proud of their younger siblings and the potential opportunity.
For Bryan Pedersen, the game day invite for his son Dane to check out the University of Jamestown program is icing on the cake. It came just a couple of days ago and long after the three families planned their visit to the game.
“All of a sudden he gets this call about it,” Bryan Pedersen said. “It’s another level of hilarity, and it’s hard to get my head around.”
Bryan Pedersen said years ago, when his sons started playing football and he experienced sitting on the sidelines and the other commitments that parents make to allow their children to participate in the sport, he learned how athletics bond families.
“You spend more time with these people than you do with your blood family because you are there shoulder-to-shoulder every Friday night in the fall and the team dinners on Wednesday, and you are packing the snack bags with them on Tuesday,” he said. “So, for us to go up there and have an opportunity to see our boys on the same field again that we thought was over … what a cool thing to get to experience together again.”
Steven Prescott agreed. He said his son started playing football at 9 or 10 years old, and for most of those years, played on the same team as Xander and then later with Brock.
“It started in junior high when all of our families came together because they were in different grade schools,” he said. “And then we’ve just grown up with the families, too.”
The football contest between Northern State (6-4) and Jamestown (1-8) kicks off Saturday at noon.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
