LB Rogers the center of Davis’ ‘D’

His No. 45 jersey was as pristine white as before the game. Jerico Rogers was spotless and smiling.

The senior linebacker/fullback was greeted by an assembly line of Davis football supporters last Friday following the Wolves’ 55-14 demolition of Hobart. After being pulled in the second quarter, it’s the busiest he’d been all night.

He said he looks forward to the postgame greeting from his grandfather, and the countless shoulder slaps and handshakes. After clinching the district title in week 10, a 37-14 win over Plainview, Rogers chest is nearly caved in by a goodwill shoulder charge — courtesy of a fan.
It’s by far the hardest hit he received all night.

Rogers is usually the one administering the punishment. At 6-foot-1, 220 pounds, he’s the go-between on an excellent Davis defense. The line in front of him is relentless, and the secondary behind him is opportunistic and full of ball hawks.

And Rogers holds it all together.

“We have a lot of players playing well this year,” Davis coach Jody Weber said. “Doing it as a four-year starter, he’s certainly one of the leaders of our defense.”

That’s saying something considering that the Davis defense has been one of the best all-around units in the state this season, giving up only 9.5 points per game. It says even more that Rogers has been at the center of the linebacker corps since his freshman season in 2006, when he started for a team that went to the 2A state semifinals.

“It comes natural to him,” Davis linebacker coach Shane Summers said. “First of all, he’s got a great nose for the football. He really has worked hard this past year between his junior and senior seasons. He’s made a commitment to shed some of that loose weight he was carrying around.”

Rogers said he’s lost somewhere between 30-40 pounds since his freshman year, which has turned him into a more explosive player on both sides of the ball. Entering tonight’s game against John Marshall, he’s rushed for 333 yards on 48 carries and nine touchdowns in Davis’ multiple back offense. And while the Wolves didn’t have official defensive stats available, Rogers said he’s set a personal goal to make about 15 tackles a game.

That’s certainly within his reach.

“If I get more than 15, I know the line is doing what it’s supposed to do,” Rogers said.

“If they do their job up front, he’s free to do what he wants,” Summers said. “The good thing about Jerico is he knows that too.”

Summers and Rogers both acknowledged that a big part of what the Davis defense is able to do hinges on their front three of Trevor Elliott, Tyler Summers and Ray Wilson, who free up Rogers and his fellow linebackers to make plays.

Or, as coach Summers said, to do what Davis has been teaching since he was in school nearly 20 years ago: chase the football.

It’s arguable that nobody does that better than Rogers, who’s interested in Oklahoma State, Missouri, Tulsa, Central Oklahoma, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Sam Houston State.

“We’ve always had pretty good linebackers, but he’s pretty special,” Summers said. “He’s a really, really good ball player. He’ll play at the next level.”

Erik K. Horne
221-6522

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John Marshall at Davis

■  Class 2A second round, 7:30 tonight at Wolf Field
■  Records: John Marshall 8-2, Davis 11-0
■  AP rankings: John Marshall No. 10, Davis No. 1
■  Radio: KTRX-FM 92.7