Ocean View’s Rogers Plays All Over Field

It’s rare not to see Sean Rogers on the field during Ocean View High School football games. More than a two-way player, Rogers virtually is an all-way player for the Seahawks.

Need a field goal? Rogers kicks. Need an interception? Rogers plays cornerback. Need a first down? He plays fullback, too.

“I hate sitting on the sideline not playing,” Rogers said. “I like to be out there all the time.”

To Tustin, it must have seemed as if Rogers was on the field all the time. Rogers, the Times’ Athlete of the Week, kicked four field goals--27, 46, 32 and 39 yards--intercepted three passes and blocked an extra-point attempt in a 35-9 victory Friday.

The four field goals were one short of the county single-game record set last season by El Modena’s Tim Hatcher. Rogers had apparently tied the record with a 34-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, but it was nullified when the Seahawks (3-2) accepted a penalty. Unaware that Rogers was one shy of the county record, Ocean View Coach Howard Isom sent in backup kicker Ron Lightner to kick a final field goal.

“I didn’t realize that until after the game,” Isom said. “You’re not thinking of records at those times. He had done an awful lot that night.”

That’s nothing new for Rogers, a senior transfer from Douglas High in Box Elder, S.D. As a freshman, he played three games a week for Douglas, at three different levels. He was a quarterback for the freshman team; he was a quarterback and safety for the junior varsity, and he was a receiver for the varsity.

South Dakota has no rules prohibiting such practices because schools often are wanting for players, Douglas Coach Dave Broadie said.

At Ocean View, football didn’t start auspiciously for Rogers. First, he missed six weeks of football after breaking his hand in a non-football related accident in August. In his first full game, he missed four field goals in a 9-7 loss to Western.

“I know what I did wrong,” Rogers said. It’s like hitting in baseball: If you don’t watch the ball the whole time, you’re not going to hit it.”

Even with some extra kicking practice last week, Rogers said he was nervous before the game. But his first successful kick changed that.

“After I made the first one, I felt a little more confident,” he said.

TOP PERFORMERS

Tino Chavez of Mater Dei caught six passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in a 19-14 victory over Huntington Beach Thursday.

Daniel Niednagel of Dana Hills defeated Mike Farrell of San Clemente Thursday in a cross-country race between two of the best runners in the county. Niednagel finished the three-mile race in 15 minutes 25 seconds, Farrell finished in 15:30. San Clemente won the South Coast League dual meet, 20-39.

Shane Sherman of Edison rushed for 308 yards in 31 carries--the seventh-highest rushing total in county history--as the Chargers defeated St. John Bosco of Bellflower, 48-27, Friday. Sherman’s total broke the school record of 238 yards set in 1979 by Kerwin Bell against Pius X.

Oscar Wilson, a Santa Ana defensive tackle, had three quarterback sacks and a deflected pass that was intercepted in the Saints’ 17-14 victory Friday.

Greg Windle of Troy set a school single-game passing record with 268 yards in a 33-21 victory over Savanna Friday. Windle, who completed 14 of 20 passes for two touchdowns, broke the record set in 1986 by Mike Pawlawski, who passed for 230 yards against Sunny Hills.

Sean Rogers

Ocean View High School

Position: Kicker/cornerback/fullback

Height, Weight, Class: 6-1, 177, Senior

Last Week: Rogers kicked four field goals in Ocean View’s 35-9 victory over Tustin. Rogers also intercepted three passes and blocked an extra- point attempt.

Season: Rogers has made four of eight field goals and intercepted four passes.