ROGERS — Mitchell Hankins has either played in, officiated or broadcast Rogers High football games over the past three decades.
Over that time, Hankins has seen a lot of great high school quarterbacks. Herman Wilkinson still ranks as one of the best he has seen.
Wilkinson was a threeyear starter at quarterback for Rogers and he led the Mounties to a 10-0 record his junior season in 1962. Despite being injured his senior year, he guided Rogers to a 6-2-1 record.
Wilkinson played in an era where most teams ran the football, and he still holds several school passing records.
For his contributions, Wilkinson has been selected to enter the Rogers High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
He will join Harold Callaway, Dianne Gooch and Shara Sherman in the 2013 class. They will be honored at a reception and banquet on May 4.
“That was one of the most enjoyable times of my life,” Wilkinson said. “I had great friends, and it was just a fun time.”
Wilkinson, who beat out two seniors to become the starting quarterback his sophomore year, said a strong supporting cast around him was the key to the Mounties success his junior season in 1962.
“That year, we could have won every game just throwing the football,” he said. “Back then, if you threw it 15 times, that was throwing it a lot. We threw it a lot, sometimes we threw 30 passes. That was our bread and butter.
“When we needed yards, that is what we would do.”
The 1962 Mounties’ team was just one of two undefeated schools in Class AA, but there was no playoff system in Arkansas back then.
“It was tough not having any playoffs,” Wilkinson said. “The coaches tried to put something together, but it didn’t work out.”
Hankins said the 1962 Mounties looked to Wilkinson as a leader on both sides of the football. Wilkinson was also a starting linebacker for a defense that had six shutouts. Hankins was a sophomore on that team.
“Herman was a rugged, tough individual,” Hankins said. “Strong arm, very good passer. He had one of the tightest spirals I have ever seen out of a quarterback. Over the past 30 years, Herman’s arm would stand up against anyone that I have seen.
“And I have seen a lot of good quarterbacks.”