ROGERS — Luck wasn't on Andy Couture's side at the end of last season, and it stalked him into the spring.
It wasn't much better for the rest of Couture's teammates in 2008, either. Injuries were part of the blame for Rogers' 3-7 season, which included a 1-6 finish in the 7A-West Conference.
Couture was the poster boy for the hard times.
A season-ending knee injury to leading rusher Michael Tibbs in Week 6 came as he led the 7A-West in rushing. That seemed to deflate the Mounties, who then lost Couture for the final two games with a torn ligament in his right thumb.
Those were just two of the several injuries to key starters.
What frustrated Coach Ronnie Peacock the most were the expectations he and his coaching staff had for the group. By the end of the season, receivers Ethan Melton (knee), offensive lineman Dustin Corey (knee) and receiver Ryan Schatzman (hamstring) were all sidelined.
"I thought we had a really good football team, and to watch it kind of just go boom ... I don't think I've ever had to deal with that many injuries to so many key players," Peacock said. "I know it happens, and I guess it was my turn."
Unfortunately for Couture, his adventure was far from over.
A infielder for Rogers' baseball team, he wasfielding a ground ball in practice when it took a bad hope. He tried to barehand it, but the ball struck his pinkie finger. It broke the finger, and Couture had to have two pins inserted.
He came back to turn in a good 7-on-7 season during the summer. He still has to ice his hand after practice, but Couture is focused on reversing what happened last season.
"I wasn't out here in the spring, so just watching everyone else take snaps, you feel bad because your team is out there sweating and you're not able to do anything," Couture said. "I try to play harder and keep the team motivated."
Peacock sees last season as simply another experience from which the team can learn. Even though it seemed like everything that could go wrong did, the key is bouncing back.
"You try teach kids how to deal with adversity, how to be a good leader, how to rally together," Peacock said. "Hopefully, that's what we'll do this year."
There are pieces in place for Rogers to take a step back in the right direction. Peacock called Couture's work ethic "unbelievable." Going through what he has since last October surely will make Couture even more relentless as Rogers tries to right itself.
"They say when you have an injury like this you come back and work hard to rehab it, so you can come back a lot stronger," Couture said. "Seeing we were picked near dead last in conference, that's eating us up like crazy.
"Hopefully they made a big mistake and we can prove some people wrong."
Rogers Mounties
COACH Ronnie Peacock
LAST SEASON 3-7
OFFENSE Spread
DEFENSE Multiple
RETURNING STARTERS Offense 5, defense 5
POINTS SCORED PER GAME 29
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 27.2
OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH Andy Couture (5-10, 175, QB, Sr.), Brandon Austin (5-10, 190, RB, Sr.), Casey Caton (6-2, 170, WR, Sr.),
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH Channing Uber (6-1, 200, DL, Sr.), Jason Oller (5-8, 168, DB, Sr.),Tyler Hawkins (5-9, 200, LB, Sr.), Max Muirhead (6-1, 215, LB, Sr.), David Smart (6-1, 235, LB, Sr.).
KEEP AN EYE ON Channing Uber. The Mounties don't have much experienced on the defensive front, but Channing Uber is an exception.He should be a player who can clog the line. Last season he had 4 1 /2 sacks and could get even more if he can avoid double-teams as a senior. Peacock likes his leadership skills.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK If Couture can stay healthy, that could be worth a couple of extra victories for the Mounties, who should be a high-scoring offense.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK The Mounties were playing well defensively, but they struggled late in the 2008 season when still in contention for a postseason berth. They look solid at linebacker in Hawkins, Muirhead and Smart.
SEASON OUTLOOK Finding consistent success has been a challenge at Rogers, which dropped to 1-6, seventh in the 7A-West twoyears after making a run to the state championship game. Rogers should be in the playoff hunt, however.
KEY GAME Oct. 9 vs. Springdale Har-Ber.
This is the first of three games that should define the Mounties' season. After hosting the 2008 state runner-up Wildcats, Rogers has back-to-back games at defending champion Bentonville and Fayetteville.
Sports, Pages 44 on 08/30/2009