Electric pair?

By Mike Kays
Phoenix Sports Editor

June 30, 2009 01:04 am

— That Muskogee offensive coordinator Rusty Harris was bringing with him the Wildcat offense this year was made clear from the get-go.
It was after he got here that he added another couple of components.
Thunder and Lightning. And if all goes well, those elements should put a little spark in the prance of the wildcat.
Meet Thunder, otherwise known as Eddie Venters.
Venters was an outside linebacker last season. Harris sat down with the 5-foot-11, 220-pound senior and told him how he could contribute on the other side.
“It was the first day I met him,” Venters said. “He told me he thought I had a good frame for carrying the football and he wanted to try and do some things with me running with it.”
Said Harris: “He’s a great vertical running threat who runs with a lot of authority.”
Then, there’s Lightning, or what his parents named him, Brenton Bogar.
Bogar, at 6-0, 180 the fastest Rougher in the past two seasons (4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash), might have figured more prominently in the running game with since-graduated Vernon Scott, now at Colorado State. But a high ankle sprain suffered while rushing the punter in the season opener against Owasso limited him for much of the season.
Overcoming some hamstring issues to run late in track last spring, he’s now healthy and comes in with high expectations, both of himself and from the coaching staff.
“If there’s someone faster than Bogar, I don’t know ‘em,” Harris said.
“We’re going to be a good tandem,” Bogar said of he and Venters. “It’s going to be a better offense than last year. The wildcat gives you a lot of fakes and will open things up. The effort everyone’s putting out, the receivers willing to block, I know it’s going to be better than last year. I know it for a fact.”
It was an offense that scored just 234 points in the regular season, fifth-best among District 6A-3 teams, and averaged 22 points over the season which ended with a first-round, 16-9 overtime upset playoff loss at home against Stillwater. That’s a 13-point difference compared to the previous regular season.
As much as their athleticism, Bogar and Venters are being counted on for leadership.
“That loss woke a lot of people up and made for some changes in the way we looked at ourselves,” Bogar said.
Adds Venters: “The past couple of years, our biggest downfall is that we talk about each other too negative. It was the kind of thing that would spread around and really, even we’d end up part of it.
“Brenton and I said to each other that we were going to set a new trend. We were going to lift each other up. We’re not going to tell others to get off the field. We’re not so deep that we can afford to lose anyone. We’re going to be encouragers.”
Bogar’s backfield potential was already noticeable, just not seen as often due to the injury factors. Harris saw on film the potential for Venters.
“He runs hard, he’s got some pretty soft hands, it’s great that we can insert a kid like him because they both start on defense,” Harris said. “He’s had a really good spring, he’s intelligent and he really wants to please you.
“Having them both there give us two different styles.”
Thunder and Lightning were nicknames attributed to former New York Giants running backs Ron Dayne, a power-style running back and Kiki Barber, seen as more of a speed back.
Bogar will return in the secondary at cornerback. He had 55 tackles, broke up 12 passes and had two interceptions. Venters moves to the middle from the outside at linebacker. He had 121 tackles, 12 for losses and three sacks.
“It’s no secret what Bogar brings to us in terms of speed,” MHS defensive coordinator David Heath said. “He’s got lockdown ability on coverage which gives us the opportunity to do a lot in terms of blitzing.
“I hate to put pressure on Eddie but I think he’ll be one of the best linebackers to come out of here when it’s all said and done. He’s always been the type of kid who has had something to prove. Everyone has pretty much doubted him throughout his career that he might not be the guy. I wouldn’t have put him in that position if I thought that way.
“He’s matured into a leader. He’s a captain. They’re both example-setters and vocal.”
Venters shrugs at the kind words.
“I mean, they’ve been saying good stuff but they won’t go too far with it,” he said. “They try to keep us humble, and they should because that’s the coaches’ jobs.
“To me, the way we know whether we’ve done a good job is by the way we’re moving the ball.”
During Saturday’s Green Country Team Camp at Indian Bowl, in three 40-minute game-simulated scrimmages, the Roughers totaled 102 points — an average of 34 per game highlighted by a 49-point output against Sequoyah. Bogar had five touchdowns.
Sequoyah may not be Jenks, but they’re the same color and June is a pretty good start for August.
“We’re going to be a better offense,” Bogar said.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.