@ Texas Football

For all the readers pining for something more along the line of 2000, when Midland Lee's Cedric Benson took the sole cover spot, we offer you Marcus Wright and Jacquizz Rodgers.

This season, Wright and Rodgers have captivated the San Antonio and Houston areas, respectively, reminding them that running the ball never goes out of style. =

"Absolutely there's a big buzz about (Rodgers)," says Sam Khan, the lead high school beat writer for the Houston Chronicle. "He has become a weekly highlight reel."

Dan McCarney, who has the same role at the San Antonio Express-News, says of Wright: "If you just look at him from a statistical standpoint, I don't imagine we'll ever see another guy like him."

With their careers nearing an end, Texas high school football historians have been forced to pull out their erasers to make room for Wright and Rodgers in record books that have decades to shape. And as I started looking into these players' respective careers, parallels between these two running backs became very evident.

Out of nowhere
Jacquizz Rodgers earned a little time up with the varsity squad as a freshman in 2004. Seeing that Lamar Consolidated finished 2-8, the Mustangs were in a position to take an early peak at the future. Rodgers rushed for 500 yards in limited action, a precursor of things to come. The next fall, as a sophomore in 2005, Rodgers took south Houston by storm, rushing for 2,278 yards and 34 TDs. Lamar went unbeaten in the regular season and ended up with an 11-1 record -- a nine-game turnaround.

He upped that total to 2,592 yards last season and scored 52 touchdowns. Rodgers has a chance to exceed his numbers once again; he enters tomorrow night's 4A DI semifinal against New Braunfels with 2,481 yards rushing and 30 TDs on the ground. His impact has reached the passing game as well, where he leads the team with 515 yards and 4 TDs receiving.

"This year, they lost two games in pre-district," Khan says of Lamar. "They lost four to five kids to injury. To see them back here (in the DI semifinals) -- he's a big reason why. It seems like every other player on that team believes, and he makes them believe."

Meanwhile, down in San Antonio, Reagan High was trying to establish an identity of its own. Opening in 1999, Reagan struggled to compete at first with the established San Antonio guard.

Then, toward the end of the 2005 season, a sophomore named Marcus Wright emerged in the second half of the season, rushing for 973 yards and 7 TDs in five starts.

Like Rodgers, the first season as the No. 1 starter saw Wright's numbers explode. In 2006, Wright rushed for 2,752 yards and scored 33 times. Not coincidentally, Reagan made its maiden playoff trip, going four rounds deep before a heart-breaking loss to Austin Westlake.

This fall, Reagan is back in the fourth round. And the Rattlers are actually favored against another Texas giant, Converse Judson, today (RM) at the Alamodome in a 5A DII regional final. Much of the credit goes to Wright who broke the San Antonio single-season rushing record last week with 3,232 rushing yards. His 43 rushing TDs put him four behind the city record. And in seven playoff games, Marcus is yet to rush for less than 250 yards. "When Reagan opened, people just assumed it was only a matter of time before they got good," McCarney says. "Their ascent has coincided with Marcus's run."

Smaller breed of backs
Switch the uniforms, and even the most faithful Reagan and Lamar fans might have trouble telling a difference. Both stand 5-foot-7. Rodgers barely has the weight edge, his 185 pounds five more than Wright. Not surprisingly, both use blazing speed to distance themselves from opponents. McCarney, who has covered every Reagan playoff game, called watching Wright "mind-boggling."

"I keep waiting for people to say whatever it takes, we're not going to let him beat us," McCarney says. "It hasn't happened."

Khan says that Rodgers has remained consistent despite always being out-weighed by tacklers. "He is that good of a back -- despite his size," he says. "To me, he has been the best back in the area in the last three years. He's been durable; he's been productive."

Overshadowed
Their names might last forever in the record books, but Wright and Rodgers have often taken a back seat to other area players. When Reagan and Wright faced off against district-rival Madison earlier this year, Wright had a solid night. But his 153 yards and two TDs were a sidebar to what Madison's Devin Thomas did that night: 335 yards and 3 TDs on 30 carries.

The year before against Madison, Wright rushed for 290 yards. So of course Thomas had to counter with 487 rushing yards, breaking the city's single-game record. McCarney says Wright and Thomas "are linked -- you can't separate the two."

"It kind of sums up, in my opinion, Marcus Wright," McCarney says. "He kind of gets overshadowed, but when you look at his numbers, he doesn't deserve to be." Ironically, Thomas injured his ankle on his last carry of the game against Reagan this year. He hasn't returned since and likely won't play again until he takes his career to Arkansas, where he committed months ago.

Houston's version of the human highlight reel -- Cy Fair RB Sam McGuffie (a Michigan early commitment) -- has been the version Devin Thomas for Jacquizz Rodgers, who has pledged to Oregon State to join his brother, James. Says Khan: "Sam McGuffie has been the most noteworthy because of his highlights," which include multiple hurdles of defensive backs. "But in terms of production, Rodgers has been the best."

And when the Houston Touchdown Club announced its eight finalists for the area's Offensive MVP, Rodgers' name was nowhere to be seen. Khan said readers have flooded the Chronicle's web sites with a disapproving reaction. "I've still got comments coming in," Khan says.

The final chapters
Even if some people fail to recognize the enduring greatness of Rodgers and Wright, numbers alone will make their names relevant in the years to come. But there's still time to catch them in all their glory. Both players take the field tomorrow hoping to extend their careers at least one more week.

"We've had some good running backs over the years, Priest Holmes, Jerrod Douglas," McCarney says. "Of all those guys, nobody has done what Marcus has done in the playoffs. Nobody." Rodgers will try to get his team in the state finals -- something unthinkable when he was a freshman on a 2-8 team. "I've had more fun watching him than just about any back in this area," says Khan. "I wish I could've seen him more."