Eventually Sarah set off by herself and flew to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rose had the option of sleeping after the long flight but instead chose to meet her son the minute she landed.

“He latched on to me right away.” Rose said. “From the moment we got him he has always been he’s always loved to play and he’s very playful.”

That playfulness would come in handy and Donovan Rose’s first introduction to American sport came when he started playing soccer at the age of five. Sarah Rose remembers her son struggling at first with the language barrier and stealing the ball from his teammates.

“I remember the game being really physical,” Donovan Rose said. “After being in soccer that year I started playing other sports and was introduced to football.” 

As a junior, Rose was the starting running back on a Sioux Valley team that finished last season with a 9-1 record before bowing out to Hot Springs in the Class 11B semifinals. Rose carried the ball 94 times for 953 yards, averaging a whopping 10.4 yards per carry. He scored 15 rushing touchdowns. 

One of the top running backs in South Dakota Donovan Rose had 953 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns for the Cossacks last season - Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose

“I’m not the biggest guy out there but I try to be physical,” said Rose, who is 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds. “You just have to bring it on every play and be ready to do a little more than the next guy.”

Rose has been offered by the University of Sioux Falls and his stock likely went up after an impressive performance at the state track and field meet. He placed fourth in the 100-meter dash (:11.31), fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (:15.35) and eighth in the 200-meter dash (:24.40). 

Rose has spent os early part of his summer attending football camps and working on his craft.

“We do a lot of combine skills and the coaches like to see you make adjustments,” Rose said. “They also want to see how well you can handle adversity and see that you can move on to the next play.”

The one college camp Rose isn’t sure he’ll be able to attend is the North Dakota State camp. That two-day camp has one day that overlaps the South Dakota High School Rodeo Finals that takes place in Fort Pierre from June 11-15. 

Rose is a tie-down roper and participates in team roping with Colman-Egan student Sutton Bunde. The pair met in junior high rodeo and have been best friends ever since. 

Rose was introduced to the sport of rodeo, growing up on the family farm outside of Volga. 

Donovan Rose got an early start to his rodeo career when he moved to the Rose family farm - Photo courtesy of Sarah Rose

“My dad rodeoed in high school and both of my parents went to South Dakota State,” Rose said. “At first I was doing horse showing and then I started 4-H rodeo, then junior high rodeo and then high school.”

One week after earning those three medals at the state track and meet, Rose traded his spikes in for cowboy boots and a cowboy hat. With very little practice because of track Rose said he relied on muscle memory to win the tie-down roping at his first regional rodeo.

“Once you start doing it you can always just pick up a rope and go,” Rose said. “I didn’t ride that much during the spring so it just felt good to get out there and compete.” 

Rose had runs of :24.340 seconds and :12.640 seconds and enters this weekend’s second regional rodeo with 11 points.

No matter where he is, Rose is well known for the big smile and upbeat personality. Rose is a competitive young man who hopes to play college football. Serious about sports he seems to take a softer approach to rodeo. 

“For me rodeo is just about fun,” he said. “I like doing the sport and there are some pretty great people involved that just want to take care of the animals.”

When Sarah Rose first met her new son’s father she asked him what the name Donovan stood for. ‘Don’ she was told meant Gift From God. 

As Rose enters his senior year at Sioux Valley he walks firmly in his own faith. 

“Not everyone is doing the right thing and faith is one of the best things you can have,” he said. “God will get you through it. Faith brings a big role into our lives. Before every competition I always say a prayer because that’s who we’re doing it for and he gave me all my gifts.”