By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

Several years ago, former Victoria offensive lineman Steven Rohleder started to call Victoria fullback Austin Roth, "Roth" during practices. Then, the nickname morphed into "Roast." Finally, one day, Rohleder changed it to "Toast."

"I don't know how he came up with it, but it has stuck with me ever since," Roth said. "I think it's cool."

Roth, now a senior and the Knights' leading rusher, is called "Toast" by everyone, a name that fourth-year Victoria coach Doug Oberle enjoys.

"It is funny to watch game film with the volume up because everybody in the stands is calling him 'Toast,' " Oberle said. "Little old ladies, little old men, everyone in town that comes to our games knows his name. He is actually 'Toast' to everybody in town."

On film, Oberle hears "Toast" more often than past seasons. Roth, who ranked as the Knights' fourth-leading rusher with about 400 yards last season, has moved into the starting role this fall.

"I think within the context of our offense, what we run, how we run it, our fullback is always our first option," Oberle said. "Austin is a very tough runner, hard runner, as hard of a runner as we have had here. He is not a big guy, but he is very strong for his size. He does a great job of getting the ball, getting his shoulders square and getting downfield. He has got some good speed."

After quarterback Jordan Ottley (1,400 yards), running back Blake Klaus (1,220 yards) and fullback Evan Koerner graduated, Roth has picked up 127 carries for 931 yards and 12 rushing TDs this year.

"It has been really exciting and it has been the best year yet out of my high school career," Roth said.

The Knights, ranked No. 5 in Eight-Man, Division II in the statewide media poll, finished the regular season 8-1 and moved to 41-5 in the Oberle era. On Tuesday, they will travel to Rexford-Golden Plains (7-2) for the first round of the Bi-district Championships. Last season, Victoria defeated Golden Plains 50-0 in the first round of the postseason. The Knights have won at least eight contests for nine straight seasons.

"I think it's the good tradition that we have here," Roth said. "Everyone that plays football gives it their all. Everyone puts in all of the hard work."

Victoria, with two state titles and a runner-up finish in the last five seasons, have averaged more points than any other year since they moved to eight-man in 2001. The Knights set the record last season when they averaged 45.5 points a contest. This fall, they've averaged 51.3 points and rank fourth in Eight-Man II.

In addition to the new running backs and quarterback, Victoria has had multiple replacements up front and starts sophomore center Zach VonLintel, senior end Quincy Robben, junior guard Dylan Kuhn and senior guard Curtis Gasper. Helped by offensive line coach Brody Vandergrift, a former Fort Hays State University player, Victoria has averaged 242 rushing yards per game.

"I really felt like we had a lot of growing to do up front," Oberle said. "That is another spot that I knew we were going to have some issues with as far as getting everybody on the same page, and up front playing that line is so much different than playing anywhere else.

"You can plug a tailback in. You can plug a fullback in. Quarterback maybe not so much, but end you can plug in a player. Up front, they just have to get used to playing with one another. Get used to working a combo block. Get used to bringing their hips together. Understanding what that other guy is going to do," he added.

Roth, who called some of the holes "big enough to drive a truck through," has six 100-yard rushing games. In the first contest, he carried 22 times for 154 yards, still his season-high, as the Knights beat Macksville 30-6. Roth has scored a touchdown in six games, including a season-high three versus Palco and Logan. He's carried the ball at least 20 times on three different occasions, numbers that have allowed choruses of "Toast" to echo through the crowd and sideline.

"The one thing about Austin, he runs hard, he protects the football very well," Oberle said. "Two hands on the football all the time, which down low you are going to have tough yardage, guys trying to get the football. He protects the football, first and foremost, so I feel very confident with him carrying it."