The conversation — if you want to call it that — didn’t last long.
Heritage Academy football coach Sean Harrison remembers his “talk” with his junior going something like this: “Lex, I need you to do more to help the team this season.” Harrison’s recalls Rogers saying “yes sir” and not quibbling about where he was going to play, how many minutes he was going to get, or if the new work would take away from his duties as the team’s kicker and punter.
Harrison said Rogers’ willingness to do more to help the squad is a testament to his team-first mentality.
Rogers’ performance Friday night helped Heritage Academy deliver one of its best all-around efforts of the season. The defensive back/wide receiver had a career-high four interceptions to lead Heritage Academy to a 37-6 victory against Leake Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 game at C.L. Mitchell Field in Columbus.
For his accomplishments, Rogers is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“I like it a lot more than I thought I would,” Rogers said. “I guess I like being more involved. Last year, I would just come in and kick.”
Harrison said after the game that Leake Academy likely saw game film of Heritage Academy’s victory against Pillow Academy. In that game, Harrison said Rogers “had some really tough breaks,” which he felt led to Leake Academy targeting Rogers as much as it did on its passing plays. He wasn’t surprised to see Rogers answer the call on a night when he was picked on more than usual.
“Sometimes a kid will get an interception — maybe two — and get a little bit fired up and think they have done their job,” Harrison said. “He kept playing. I think they completed two passes on him, and both were on passes that were right on the money and he made the tackles on.”
Harrison said he has never had a player have a defensive line of four interceptions, three pass breakups, and one fumble recovery in his coaching career. To add to matters, Harrison said Rogers’ impact went beyond just playing defensive back. He said on one sequence Rogers outran a defender to get a 40-yard punt off that flipped the field. He then had an interception on the first play of Leake Academy’s series.
Rogers, who moved to Mississippi from Florida in the eighth grade, had a feeling early that Leake Academy was going to test him. He said he could tell from the way Leake Academy’s receivers lined up that he was going to have to stay focused. Rogers said he didn’t focus on the fact that Leake Academy “was picking on him” and merely concentrated on “stepping up” to help his team get off on the right foot in its district opener.
Rogers said he made an over-the-shoulder catch on a fade pattern on one interception. He said he made his fourth interception on a jump ball after the quarterback rolled out. Another interception came after he “jumped” a route, or anticipated the throw after reading the body language of the quarterback. The other interception came when he was in Cover 4 and was on another jump ball.
Rogers said going against receivers like Moak Griffin, Jared Long, and Dalton Alexander in practice has prepared him for games because he feels the Patriots have plenty of talented skill-position players.
Harrison said it has been “fun” to watch Rogers develop into a bigger contributor. He said in the preseason he hoped Rogers, who kicked for the team last season, would be able to emerge into a bigger role. He said it didn’t take long for Rogers, who played football in junior high school, to feel comfortable again on the football field. Initially, Rogers said playing different positions got him “out of his comfort zone,” but he said he “got into it” once the team started two-a-days in the summer.
“I figured I would just be kicking again, so I was a little bit surprised,” Rogers said. “I just went for it. I was a little nervous. It just took getting used to it and playing it more and more to get better.”
Rogers’ athleticism has enabled him to make a smooth transition. Rogers has played soccer for as long as he can remember, and is a member of the school’s varsity team. He used to play club soccer with Columbus United and now is in his second year with the Tuscaloosa United.
Harrison said Rogers typically will practice two days a week with his club soccer team in addition to the work he does with the Heritage Academy football squad. On weekends, Harrison said Rogers usually stays busy at travel soccer tournaments. All of the work hasn’t taken away from what Rogers has been able to do for Heritage Academy (6-1, 1-0 district), which will play at 7 p.m. Friday at Winston Academy in another district matchup.
Harrison said Rogers’ kicking, especially in a 3-0 victory against Manchester Academy, has been instrumental to the team’s success.
“In every phase of the game — literally — he has been really good for us,” Harrison said. “I knew he was an athlete, and I also knew he was going to do what was best for the team.”
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Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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