MoCo Resident Named Head Football Coach at St. John’s Catholic Prep

MoCo Resident Named Head Football Coach at St. John’s Catholic Prep

Longtime Montgomery County resident, Jerry Rogers, has been named the new Head Football Coach at St. John’s Catholic Prep High School, a school founded in 1829 and located in Buckeystown, Md. in Frederick County.

Saint John’s Catholic Prep President Dr. Thomas Powell and Principal Will Knotek announced that Rogers was the new Head Varsity Football Coach after an extensive search. The top spot opened up when Coach Daryl Hayes left the Vikings program for the head coach job at Bishop Gorman High School in Tyler, Texas.

Rogers has been a Montgomery County resident for 20 years and has been on the coaching staff at Saint John’s Catholic Prep since 2017, coaching running backs and linebackers. Rogers is also the head coach for both the SJCP spring and winter track & field teams. He has coached outdoor track & field since 2017 and took over as head coach in 2018. He has coached indoor track since 2018 and took over as head coach in 2019.

“Saint John’s Catholic Prep is very fortunate that Coach Rogers has agreed to step up into the Head Varsity Coach position from his current role serving as Assistant Coach. It was apparent during the search process that Coach Rogers possesses a genuine love for Saint John’s Catholic Prep, our students, and the Viking football program. His leadership, experience with the game, maturity, and commitment to overall character and development of our students will benefit the program and our student athletes as well. He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his dedication to the program. Saint John’s is in great hands, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.” shared, Principal Will Knotek.

“Coaching at Saint John’s Catholic Prep is a means to promote and build the SJCP community and to help develop Christian men and women,” said Rogers. “It’s an honor to be named Head Football Coach because of everything else that happens on this campus. To be part of this community – students, teachers, administrators, staff, volunteers, parents, and alumni – is an extraordinary opportunity especially given that this is the 20thAnniversary season of football at SJCP, and we have a new home football stadium being constructed on campus this summer.”

As a Montgomery County resident, Rogers said he’s hoping to tap into some of the vast talent of football players located in the Up-County region and to encourage that talent to give SJCP a look. “I am the father of five, and all of my kids attended or attend Mary of Nazareth School in Darnestown, and I’m hoping to raise awareness of our little gem of a high school in Buckeystown, just 30 minutesfrom Gaithersburg, in the opposite direction of DC traffic,” Rogers told MoCo Show. “There are seven parishes that serve Mary of Nazareth and myriad other parishes, churches, and middle schools in upper MoCo, and we want these families to know about SJCP and its high-caliber Catholic high school football program. We want to expose these student-athletes to the tremendous education opportunities offered at Saint John’s, and how SJCP is all about community and putting others first. I’m excited to let Up-County folks know about the green, white, and gold Vikings of St. John Catholic Prep in nearby Buckeystown – just a few minutes north on I-270.”

Rogers is a product of Catholic high school football, playing for one of best Catholic high school programs in the nation, Bergen Catholic in New Jersey. Bergen Catholic is one of the most successful football programs in the country – the Crusaders are 17-time state champions.“There is something special about Catholic high school football,” said Rogers, “because we are doing more than just coaching football players, we are building men who will be better husbands, fathers, and strong leaders.”

When asked about his coaching philosophy, Rogersquoted Proverbs 27:17 – “’As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.’ This is why I love Saint John’s Catholic Prep – others before self, and it’s why I coach football – team before self.”

The St. John’s Vikings play football in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, and have games scheduled against Sidwell Friends in DC and Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, VA. SJCP was one of the few programs in Maryland to play a football season last year. The Vikings were prepared for a full schedule,but due to pandemic issues at other schools only played three games and ended with a 1-2 record. Rogers also said that he intends to bring the team back to Tennessee this season to defend its 2019 National Association of Christian Athletes Championship title.

Captions: Coach Jerry Rogers