ROGERS — It’s easy for a wide receiver to get overlooked in the Rogers High triple option offense.
Senior Zach Jones is one of the Mounties’ best athletes, and he has two catches for 79 yards this season. His primary role for a team that has attempted nine passes in four game is blocking and he does that well in helping the team average 414 yards a game.
Profile
Zach Jones
SCHOOL: Rogers High
CLASS: Senior
POSITION: Receiver/linebacker
HEIGHT: 6-4
WEIGHT: 175
NOTABLE: Has two catches for 79 yards. ... Plays some at linebacker and had two key stops late in last week’s win against Springdale High. ... Is drawing some interest from college football programs. ... Did not play football as a sophomore.
But if Rogers (5-0, 1-0 7A/6A-West Conference) continues its winning ways, he may be most remembered for his two defensive stops in the conference opener against Springdale High.
With a 47-42 lead in the closing minutes, Springdale drove down to the Mounties’ 10. But Jones made a stop for a four-yard loss on third-and-1 and he then blocked a pass attempt on a bootleg by the quarterback to seal the Mounties’ victory.
“Zach finds a way to make plays, make stops when we need them,” Rogers coach Shawn Flannigan said. “What he did against Springdale speaks volumes of his ability and talent. On third-and-1, if Springdale gets the first down, it totally changes the complexity of the game. I would have had to call timeouts to save clock.
“If that pass gets off, there are so many what ifs. We could look back and see those plays as turning points for us.”
Jones earned a starting role at receiver midway through last season, but he got reps in the offseason with the defense. It was a hectic offseason for the Mounties as every returning player practiced at a different position in an attempt to put the best players on the field.
Jones had seen spot duty on defense in the Mounties’ first three games, but was on the field at linebacker at crunch time when starter Bryan Gibby was injured.
Jones said there was nothing special about the two key stops.
“Our coaches always have a great game plan. I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said. “I always have to watch the (quarterback) boot and reverse. We call it boot reverse or get fired. If we don’t read that, they’ll fire us. I saw the boot by the quarterback and I just played the ball.”
Jones never had any expectations of playing defense once the season started, but said he likes lining up on that side of the football.
“I hadn’t played defense since the seventh grade, but, I guess, I started making plays over there,” he said. “I have been around football my whole life, but it was a little weird tackling people at first.
“Blocking in this offense, you have to be physical. When I’m on defense, I know I have to be physical to get away from blocks and make plays.”
Flannigan said he never had any concerns about having Jones learn both the offensive and defensvie playbooks.
“His rule is as the backside guy is to check boot and cutback,” Flannigan said. “If you don’t, you’re fired. Zach was playing the boot, which was his job. When he saw that the quarterback had the ball, that is when he went after the quarterback.
“Zach is a very coachable football player.”