TOP ATHLETE OF THE PAST 30 YEARS: WILLIE ROGERS (BARTLESVILLE)

By Mike Tupa

Oct. 17, 2025

BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT

During his nearly 30 years of covering area high school sports for either the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise or the Bartlesville Area Sports Report, Mike Tupa has enjoyed the opportunity to observe some incredible athletes.

This is an ongoing series highlighting each few days one of those athletes from the 1996-97 school year through the present. The list is not in chronological order. The athletes are presented in random sequence.

TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT

WILLIE ROGERS (Bartlesville)

Multiple sports (early 2000s)

Rogers exuded athletic grace and power like few in Bruin history.

Rocket fast, legs like a launching pad, tightly disciplined coordination, razor-honed focus, volcanic determination - Rogers brought a dynamic package to athletic competition.

Small wonder his three seasons on the Bruin football varsity coincided with a fresh era of success after a long epoch of losing. In the seven seasons (1993-99) prior to Rogers’ sophomore year, the Bruin football team won a total of 17 games.

With Rogers on the varsity from 2000-02, Bartlesville won 15 games, recorded its first winning record in a decade and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1992.

Of course Rogers wasn’t a one-man show — Kolby Williams, Nathan Alleman, Michael Martinez, Tyler Collums, Chris Holland, Peyton Egleston, Drew Williams, Will Bridendolph, Clint Bales and others helped bolster the turnaround, guided by head coach Rich McGuire.

But Rogers carried a big part of the load.

Here’s some details:

— Snaring a 31-yard TD pass and recording 95 yards on 4 catches in a 34-7 win in 2002 against Sand Springs.

— Catching 4 passes for 76 yards against Ponca City in 2002.

— Hauling in scoring passes of 4 and 10 yards — the latter on a 4th-down play — in a 17-14 scrimmage loss to Claremore.

— Scoring in 2001 on an 86-yard pass play.

— As a sophomore (2000) grabbing all 4 of Williams’ TD passes.

But Rogers’ most amazing feat might have taken place in his showdown with gravity at the 2001-02 Class 5A state track & field meet in Ardmore.

As a junior, Rogers soared 23 feet — with graceful flight — through the air to earn the gold medal, winning by nearly a full foot. It was the longest distance among the champions of all classes and one of the best in Class 5A/6A champions during the past 25 seasons.

According to available results, Rogers appears not to have competed in the long jump in his senior season (2003).

Southeastern Oklahoma State inked Rogers to a football scholarship.

Among Rogers’ most memorable moments on the Bruin gridiron occurred in the fall of 2002 when the Bruins nearly played David to the Jenks’ Goliath.

Bartlesville had Jenks — which had won the previous six-straight state championships — on the ropes at Custer Stadium.

Earlier in the season, Tulsa Union had snapped Jenks’ 39-game winning streak, 33-12. 

Bartlesville threatened the Trojans with another loss, battling them to a 7-7 tie through most of regulation. Two key plays saved Jenks — one of them an offensive pass interference call on Rogers on what appeared like it might have been the winning touchdown or at least set the ball up near the Jenks goal line. Those of us in the press box disagreed with the call — but of course the call stood.

In the latter part of regulation, Bruin lineman Peyton Egleston recorded what appeared to be a winning scoop-and-score on a play that went for at least 50 yards. But a Bruin linebacker was called for a block in the back to nullify the score.

Jenks went on to win in overtime, 14-13, on what was ruled a missed extra point. But the kick appeared in the press box to be good — just as a field goal attempt in regulation that was waved off by the officials. He booted the ball so far above the top of the field goal uprights on both attempts that the officials might have missed the right call, at least on one of them.

Regardless, the big toss from Kolby Williams to Rogers that nearly defeated Jenks is one of the most notorious controversial calls in Bruin football history.

Rogers also competed in basketball and was a junior (2001-02) when the Bruins qualified for state for the first time in nine seasons. Rogers poured in 16 points in the 2002 state quarterfinal loss at Stillwater against Putnam City, 69-54. Rogers scored seven of the final eight points of the first half to push the Bruins ahead, 32-31. But favored Putnam City outscored Bartlesville, 21-4, in the third quarter to take control.

Rogers remains a truly gold-standard athlete in area sports history.

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This series has featured the following athletes, listed in no particular order.

-Jena’ Williams, Bartlesville

-Eric Rolfs, Bartlesville

-Chris Smith, Caney Valley

-Jill Bryan, Copan

-Barron Tanner Jr, Bartlesville

-Hailey Tucker, Bartlesville

-Jeremy Dunkle, Dewey

-Whitney Metcalf, Bartlesville

-Tim Hamilton, Bartlesville

-Danielle Koster, Bartlesville

-Carson LaRue, Dewey

-John Hamman, Wesleyan Christian

-Jamie Elam, Caney Valley

-Sam Mitchell, Bartlesville

-Karissa Jones, Dewey

-Noah Hartsock, Bartlesville

-Tiffany Paper, Copan

-AJ Parker, Bartlesville

-Tiffany Eden, Caney Valley

-Henry Williams, Bartlesville

-Markell Carter, Bartlesville

-Rebecca Schluter, Wesleyan Christian

-Adam Hibdon, Barnsdall

-Tishuana Hunter, Nowata

-Nate Alleman, Bartlesville

-Jessie Burch, Dewey

-Joey McNair, Caney Valley/Bartlesville

-Michael Thompson, Bartlesville

-Kate Steward, Bartlesville

-Jarrett Rouse, Community

-Amanda Warehime, Bartlesville

-Trey Osborne, Dewey

-Heather Lanphear, Barnsdall

-Erin Epperson, Bartlesville

-Levi Wyrick, Caney Valley (Kan.)

-Spencer Magana, Dewey

Willie Rogers