ROGERS — Rogers Heritage football coach Perry Escalante had confidence his team would be much improved this season.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Perry Escalante
SCHOOL: Rogers Heritage
NOTABLE: Guided the War Eagles to their third playoff appearance in the school’s fifth year of existence this season and a 7-4 record after a 1-9 campaign a year ago. ... Named head football coach when Rogers Heritage began in 20008.
The War Eagles struggled through a 1-9 season a year ago, playing as many as 10 or 11 sophomores. But those sophomores grew up this season and earned the third playoff berth in the school’s short history.
Heritage finished the season 7-4 and for Escalante’s efforts, he has been selected as the NWA Media All-Big 7 Coach of the Year.
Escalante gave his coaching staff a great deal of credit, since the nucleus has remained in place since the school’s beginning in 2008.
“I think we can build something here and having stability in the coaching staff really helps,” he said.
Current offensive and defensive coordinators Darren Hotelling and Paul Wilson were on Escalante’s staff from the start, along with secondary coach Willie Johnson and quarterbacks coach Hal Qualls.
Escalante recalled that initial season when Heritage played without any seniors. He admitted it was a case of trusting in what he had been taught.
“We knew if we would just stay the course, these butt-whippings would stop eventually,” Escalante said with a laugh. “When I took the job I thought it was a great opportunity to our thumbprint on a program.
“It is a we, not a me. It never is a me. It takes so many people to get a program up and running. I’ve been blessed with good people. I think we’re at the point now we can compete year in and year out.”
Wilson and Hotelling, who are both in their 24th year of coaching, agreed they are given a great deal of freedom by Escalante, which makes working for him enjoyable.
“He allows us to coach, to coach the kids on technique and do our jobs,” Wilson said.
“We don’t feel like we’re a puppet,” Hotelling said. “He hired us to do a job and he trusts us to do that. I don’t ever feel like he’s looking over my shoulder.”
Escalante said he’s coached under bosses with all sorts of different personalities and learned from them all, but he appreciated the ones that gave him freedom.
He recalled hearing Earvin “Magic” Johnson make a statement recently about coaches, which he liked.
“He said ‘good coaches hired people who are smarter than them and are smart enough to let them coach,’” Escalante said. “I don’t know how smart I am, but I do give my coaches a lot of freedom.
I think at this point in everyone’s career, I expect them to be good at their jobs.”
Escalante and the War Eagles made a big splash by going 9-3 and winning a playoff game in just their second year of existence in 2009.
But the last three years have been a roller-coaster, going 4-6 and then 1-9 a year ago.
Escalante said that class, which took their lumps as sophomores, has benefited from being with the staff throughout and could definitely be a cornerstone for a solid War Eagle program for the future.
“That group in ’09 did unbelievable things in a short window of time,” Escalante said. “We didn’t get them as freshmen or sophomores. But now we have made progress as a program.”
Now, Escalante hopes the War Eagles and keep that momentum going in a positive fashion next season.