Some say the days of the three-sport athlete are long gone, but James Rogers is living proof otherwise. He played key roles on the football, soccer and track teams and was an easy selection as the top male Miramonte athlete.
You’ll have to excuse Miramonte senior James Rogers if he didn’t participate in as many sprints as he planned during track and field.
That’s because the speedy 6-2, 170-pound standout exerted every ounce of energy available while leading the football and soccer teams to landmark seasons.
Which, all in all, made him an emphatic choice as the Miramonte High School Boys’ Athlete of the Year.
In the fall, Rogers was a first-team All-Diablo Athletic League (DAL) Foothill Division offensive selection for not only his skill as a wide receiver with 39 catches for 614 yards and a team-best eight touchdowns, but also his big left foot as a kicker.
He had a remarkable 19 touchbacks in 61 kickoffs for the high-scoring Matadors, who won the North Coast Section (NCS) Division 5 championship with playoff wins over Alameda (35-21), Redwood-Larkspur (20-0) and Hayward (28-21). He was also the team’s punter and kicker, converting 32 PATs and four field goals.
Oh yes, if he wasn’t busy enough, he also started as a defensive back and had 42 tackles and three interceptions, a team-best nine pass deflections and a fumble recovery.
His most memorable game, which earned him acclaim throughout Northern California, was in Miramonte’s 38-14 win over College Park on Oct. 3 when he hauled in touchdown passes of 40 and 11 yards from Carson Blair, kicked a 43-yard field goal, made all five extra points, kicked off seven times and had three interceptions.
After the long, grueling and highly successful football season, Rogers took little time off, and immediately hit the soccer pitch, where he earned DAL Valley Division offensive MVP honors by leading the Matadors with eight goals and six assists. His contributions were critical in Miramonte’s overall 13-4-1 record and second-place league finish at 10-2.
And to top off his winter, Rogers had one of his team’s four goals in a 4-0 NCS Division 2 first-round victory over Lick-Wilmerding of San Francisco.
With the soccer season over near March, Rogers ran in only a couple of track meets as a sprinter, recording season bests of 11.82 seconds in the 100 meters and 23.51 in the 200. He also ran the anchor 4×100 leg for the Matadors in the DAL meet, finishing fifth in 44.34.
Some say the days of three-sport high school athletes are over, but Rogers is living proof they’re still with us – and that’s why he’s the Mats’ Boys’ Athlete of the Year.
