Rogers offense is a defense’s nightmare

Let’s explore the thought process of a defensive coordinator preparing to face the Rogers High offense.

First, he watches video of the Rams’ 35-14 win over Bethel in Week 1. He sees them rush for 301 yards and figures he’ll work up a scheme that crams eight or nine defenders into the box, clogging the running lanes.

That might work, if Rogers had a one-dimensional offense. But in the time it takes to pop the Week 2 disc into the DVD player, the coordinator is already plotting a whole new defensive alignment.

Moments into the video of Rogers’ 55-6 win over Spanaway Lake, it’s apparent the Rams can throw the ball, too. Quarterback Tyler VanSligtenhorst passed for 337 yards and four touchdowns, all while completing only 8 of 14 attempts.

It’s about this time the defensive coordinator checks the forecast, hoping for a wind storm.

“Offensively, we have so many weapons,” receiver Jake Steedman said. “You can’t really focus on one aspect of our offense.”

The first two weeks of the season have proven that. Bethel stacked its secondary and the Rams ran all over the Braves. Spanaway Lake took the opposite approach, loading up along the line of scrimmage, but was beat deep for touchdown passes of 46, 64 and 76 yards.

Sixth-ranked Rogers (2-0) will take its offensive circus to Curtis (1-1) at 7 tonight in a South Puget Sound League South Division clash.

“They have size this year,” Rams coach Gene Bowen said of the Vikings. “They have some good returning skill kids, a quarterback, receiver and a couple good running backs. They present a couple of issues that we’ll have to deal with.”

Like they have in the previous two games, Bowen said his offense will take what the defense gives it.

“If things are going to be open on the pass side we’re going to go that route because Tyler has a real good arm and we have kids that can catch the ball,” he said. “If a team wants to play back and defend against the pass, we feel like we’re doing a good enough job up front that we can make some yards running the ball.”

With a capable offensive line and a slew of talented skill players, that’s a logical approach. Tailback Bennett Bontemps ran for 81 yards and a touchdown against Bethel and caught a 64-yard scoring pass from VanSligtenhorst last week. Receiver Sean Tollan had three catches against Spanaway Lake and turned them all into touchdowns, finishing with 151 yards.

Then, there’s VanSligtenhorst. One of the SPSL South’s most exciting players, he’s the leader of this team. At 5-foot-8, he’s shorter than a typical quarterback, but Bowen doesn’t see that as a problem.

“He plays as big as anybody,” he said. “I’d match him up with anybody out there.”

Bowen has so much confidence in Van-Sligtenhorst that he’s given him the go-ahead to call audibles at the line of scrimmage.

“He’s made some great checks,” Bowen said. “Some of our big plays are plays he’s checked to. It’s a nice thing to have out there.”

Don’t think the Rams are getting ahead of themselves. Yes, their offense is clicking and the defense has allowed just 20 points this season. But memories of a regular-season loss to Emerald Ridge and a 7-3 defeat to Inglemoor in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs keep Rogers from becoming overconfident.

“I tend to be on the cautious side,” Bowen said. “I keep reminding guys how fast things can slip away. You get complacent and think ‘Oh yeah, we can run,’ or ‘Oh yeah, we can pass.’ All of a sudden, people will smack you down.

“We are going to make sure each week to work as hard as we can to make our game as sharp as we can.”

Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271

blogs.thenewstribune.com/preps