Editor’s note: As part of a 10-day project, the Star is looking back at the 2019 season, and asking five big questions about the fall. Today’s question: Can Salpointe Catholic’s new coach continue what Dennis Bene started?
Eric Rogers took a moment to consider the question. What, he was asked, is the toughest part about being forced to stay away from the football field during the coronavirus shutdown?
“This is going to sound funny,” he said.
The longtime Salpointe Catholic assistant, now the head coach of the Lancers, said there’s one thing he misses the most.
“I’m a hugger,” Rogers said. “That’s the hardest part for me, being apart. Usually, I can’t wait to give the kids a big hug and tell them how much I love them.”
The Arizona Interscholastic Association has canceled the spring sports season, including spring football practice, and schools across the state have moved to online instruction for the rest of the school year.
Salpointe Catholic is no exception, meaning Rogers — who was named Dennie Bene’s successor three months ago — must wait.
“That’s the scary part, is it’s the unknown,” Rogers said. “And so you just don’t have any answers.”
In every game Rogers has played or coached, there has been a playbook. But the coronavirus pandemic is an untimely obstacle that’s thrown a momentary wrench into Rogers’ pursuit of leading Salpointe back to the playoffs and capturing a fifth consecutive regional championship. Bene went 184-44 over 19 seasons before stepping down at the end of last season. Rogers is no rookie to the Lancer Way, having spent considerable time in the program with three different stints as an assistant dating back to 2000.
The Lancers’ new coach is relying on Zoom calls, FaceTime chats and text messages to run online practices and establish his culture.
Every Salpointe Catholic student is equipped with a Google Chromebook, meaning Rogers is able to have virtual face-to-face interaction with his players every day. He sends weekly workouts for them to do at home, has been a good short-term solution.
“It’s like we’re throwing high-fives to each other and looking each other in the eye and talking,” he said.
The rest of the coaching staff meets with each position group at certain times of the day to create some structure.
“Get up, hit the day, get it full speed and have a routine,” Rogers said. “I tell them in whatever schedule fits: get their workouts in, do their homework and spend time with their families. That’s really important right now, too.”
Eric Rogers has been running the Lancers’ football program remotely during the coronavirus shutdown. “Don’t hit the snooze button,” he says.
Isolation for high schoolers can take a toll mentally, which is why Rogers is stressing the importance of teamwork — just at a distance.
“Have a buddy as someone you’re communicating with regularly so that we’re all on the same page or looking out for each other having each other’s backs,” he said. “It’s trying to find a way to create as much culture and team as you can.”
What’s he telling his team?
“Don’t hit the snooze button,” he said.
The coaching change is one of just many facing Salpointe this fall. The 2020 senior class, which produced some of the best talent the program has ever seen, will be off to college. Running back Bijan Robinson signed with Texas, cornerback Lathan Ransom is headed to Ohio State and offensive lineman Bruno Fina will play at UCLA. Offensive tackle Jonah Miller, one of Tucson’s best remaining college prospects, has transferred to Sahuaro.
Those departures, along with the absence of Bene, suggest the Lancers are headed for a drop-off this fall. The Lancers’ new coach isn’t buying it.
“Losing them doesn’t mean that we can’t accomplish all of those big things that we set out to do, and I’ve talked to the kids about that a lot,”Rogers said.
Those “big things” Rogers refers to include — but are in no way limited to — winning the Lancers’ region, getting back in the Open Division playoffs and going to the state championship game. Salpointe Catholic still has plenty of capable talent, including a quarterback-running back tandem of junior Treyson Bourguet and senior David Cordero that figures to be among the best in Tucson.
“We’ve been in a great position many, many years to get ourselves into the playoffs. That doesn’t have to change,” he said.
No one knows yet if the upcoming high school football season will go on as scheduled, but Rogers and his staff are trying to stay positive.
“We’re going to come out stronger on the other side,” he said.
It won’t be long until Rogers can give his next bear hug.
