By Fred Kroner
It only took Quenton Rogers until the fourth game of his senior season to become the career receiving leader for the historic Mahomet-Seymour football program.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Rogers wasted little time in his fourth game before setting the record.
Seventeen seconds after the Friday (Sept. 16) Apollo Conference game at Lincoln kicked off, Rogers hauled in a 50-yard scoring strike from quarterback Wyatt Bohm.
The Bulldogs had the lead they would never relinquish, 7-0, after the first of nine extra-point placements by Kyle Walmer (who has converted 24 consecutive extra points).
And Rogers had a record that will grow with every catch he makes for the duration of the season.
He started the night 31 yards shy of the receiving mark set by 2015 graduate Tom Kenney (1,568 yards). Rogers’ current record total stands at 1,687 yards.
“He has worked incredibly hard,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “He sat out the entire COVID season (as a sophomore, with an ankle injury) or he could have had six more games (to add to his record totals).”
“The very first throw was a very deep strike.”
Rogers hauled in two scoring strikes from Bohm in the opening period, but it was his third TD catch of the game, which created a running clock with 9 minutes and 16 seconds to play in the third quarter that put him back in the record book.
That one (covering 23 yards) was Rogers’ 18th TD reception of his career, shattering the mark (17) set by 2014 graduate Cully Day.
Adkins pulled many of his starters immediately after the M-S lead had ballooned to 49-7.
“We pulled the reins back and put in young guys for half of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter,” Adkins said.
The Bulldogs nonetheless piled up a season-high 545 yards of total offense, including 312 yards through the air.
The M-S offensive linemen, and fullback Carter Selk, will be recognized as the UI Army Linemen of the Week.
Bohm was not only effective passing (going a third straight game covering 64 passes without an interception), but he also showed the ability to scramble, running for a career-high 44 yards.
“He did a great job of tucking (the ball) and running, when he needed to,” Adkins said. “He stepped up in the pocket when the offensive line created the wall, but he didn’t force anything downfield.”
Backup quarterback Luke Dyer, a sophomore, is making the most of his opportunities.
After the starters were pulled, Dyer completed 1 of 2 passes, giving him two completions for the season. Both have gone for TDs. Against Lincoln, Dyer tossed a 14-yard scoring strike to Ray Long.
Also reaching the end zone against the Railsplitters were Valient Walsh (twice), Mateo Casillas, Luke Johnson and Trey Peters.
Johnson rushed for a game-high 140 yard on just 11 attempts.
Bohm threw for a career-high six touchdowns, connecting on 16 of 24 passes for 298 yards.
“He’s a quarterback who puts the ball on the money,” Adkins said.
Defensively, the Bulldogs held a third straight opponent to fewer than 100 yards on the ground. Lincoln generated 75 rushing yards.
“I was really proud of the way the defense played,” Adkins said. “Kale (Schweighart) had one of his most impactful games.
“His job was to force things to cut back into our linebackers. He was the quiet hero, by doing his job.”
Schweighart recovered a fumble and also shared the team-lead in tackling (five) with Brennan Houser and, Adkins added, “Jack Gallier was in their backfield all night (and had four tackles).
“I felt good about us as a whole. The Lincoln student section was packed and fired up for their homecoming.
“It was a credit to the kids for weathering the storm and doing what they were supposed to do.”
This week will mark the M-S homecoming (and Hall of Fame inductions at 6:30 p.m.) as the Bulldogs play host to Adkins’ alma mater, Charleston (0-4). Adkins is a 2005 Charleston graduate and also a former quarterback for the Trojans.
“The kids know how I feel,” he said. “I played there, but I don’t live there and have no ties there. My sisters and family have all moved away.
“I look at this as another opportunity for our kids to get better. It’s just ‘Charleston.’ It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.”
The M-S coach won’t let his team rest on its laurels. The Bulldogs (4-0) are averaging nearly 50 points a game while beating their first four foes by an average of 36 points.
“My message (postgame at Lincoln) was, ‘Enjoy this, but at the same time we have to continue to get better if we want to play in Week 14 (for a state championship),’” Adkins said.
“It starts now, preparing in every facet. We can’t look at it that Charleston lost to Lincoln (20-0), but our focus and our minds have to be what does it look like this week if we’re to be playing in Week 14? These are work days.”
A win Friday would be the fifth of the season for the third-ranked (Class 5A) Bulldogs and would make them playoff-eligible.
“We can’t get caught up in the distractions, and there will be a ton of them this week,” Adkins said, “because when you do, you lose track of the task at hand.”
