Ted Rogers '91

Rogers, one of the most dominating defensive players at Williams in the modern era, was an All-American and New England's top player as a senior. He later made the Washington Redskins' development squad as a free agent and earned a Super Bowl ring (1991). A late preseason game knee injury sidelined him in 1992. His comeback bid in 1995 with the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe ended when he hurt his other knee.

Many dedicated Eph football fans will remember that Rogers personally outscored Hamilton in 1989 (8-6) and that he also knocked the ball out of the Amherst QB's hands on the 12-yard line in the final minute to ensure the first perfect season for Williams football in 1989. But it was an earlier heroic that same season that typifies Rogers' aura as a big-play player.

Just by moving Ted Rogers around on the field Eph head coach Dick Farley could dictate where offenses would go and how little space they would have. Most often Farley would line Rogers up on the wide side of the field and force opponents to use a smaller field to attack the Ephs. "He had to be reckoned with," said Farley. "The other team was always aware of where he was lining up so we used that to our advantage by putting him where we expected them to go."

Rogers, a two-sport standout (lacrosse), always seemed to make the big play. "Even though the other team tried not to put him in a position to hurt them, he had a knack for making big plays in the big games," said Farley.

In 1989 Rogers made several big plays and one, though overlooked, keyed an improbable Williams comeback over Trinity. Williams trailed Trinity 21-14 late in the fourth quarter and the Ephs scored with 58 seconds left to cut the Trinity lead to 21-20. The Ephs could have played for a tie by converting the PAT, because there was no overtime in college football in 1989. Williams elected to go for two points and the win, but the two-point conversion attempt failed.

Down one point the Ephs were forced to try an onside kick to get the ball back. Trinity knew an onside kick was coming and they had their "hands team" on the field, including the conference's best receiver, Terry McNamara.

The humble Rogers will tell you it was more the "magic" that surrounded the special season of 1989 (the first perfect football season ever at Williams) than it was anything he did that resulted in the Ephs managing to get the ball back when all looked lost.

"It honestly just never occurred to me that we would lose the game – it was like that during the 1989 season: in every game I always believed (and I think my teammates did too) that we would win in the end," said Rogers. "In retrospect, that came from hard work in the off-season and excellent preparation by the coaches and players during the week, but there was also something magical going on that year – destiny?"

Some of the "destiny" Rogers and his teammates felt no doubt came from the captain of the 1989 Ephs, Brian Stevens, a defensive lineman who boldly stated before the season began, "We're going to go undefeated and be the best Williams team ever."

Once the Ephs shook off their six-game losing streak to Amherst in Dick Farley's first year (1987) the game most of the Eph players circled on their calendars was the Trinity game. Rogers even said at the time, "Trinity is a game for the players and Amherst is a game for the alumni."

Trinity has had the most success vs. Williams of any NESCAC team over the years, but while Williams now leads the overall series 34-28-2 more often than not the game is a spine tingler. Most of the time since the mid 80's whoever wins the Williams vs. Trinity game is going to end up as the top team in NESCAC and 1989 was no different.

The Trinity offense was a multi-faceted machine under the tutelage of strategist Don Miller, while the Ephs were a stingy, bend-but-don't-break defense under the guidance of defensive genius and legend Dick Farley. Something had to give.

Before a team can recover an onside kick the ball must go 10 yards and then it becomes a free ball. The idea is for the kicker to kick the ball in such a manner that it is difficult to impossible for the receiving team to catch the ball and fall on a knee to secure possession.

The Ephs' Brian Taptich, a high school teammate of Rogers (Landon School/Bethesda, MD), strode into the ball and it went directly at Terry McNamara of Trinity, the best receiver in NESCAC and the last Trinity player Dick Farley wanted to handle the ball.

"I remember that the kickoff team lined up in a three point stance, but I was always more comfortable standing up, which I did this time: it gave me more visibility on the ball," said Rogers. "Anyway I ran straight ahead as fast as I could – the ball bounced in a line directly to where I ran – a Trinity player [McNamara] fell on it, but he never really had control. I dove into him and ripped the ball away and into my arms. That was it. McNamara had great hands. He was one of the great receivers of that era. He was always a focus of our defensive game plans." The best met the best and Rogers won the battle.

The Ephs scored the go-ahead TD on a 31-yard pass over the middle from Dan Dwyer to Matt Moynahan with just 13 seconds to play. Again the Eph two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful and the Ephs kicked off deep to the Bantams holding a 26-21 lead.

A razzle-dazzle, many-lateral return got the ball to midfield for Trinity's last offensive play. Rogers put an exclamation point on the day when he chased and sacked the Trinity QB. Rogers had scored the Ephs' first TD recovering a blocked punt in the end zone in the third quarter, notched seven tackles, (four unassisted) and recorded 1 1/2 sacks. After three games he was the Ephs leading scorer with 14 points as a defensive end.

Rogers came out of three days in the college infirmary and little practice time to thwart Amherst's last attempt to score in the final game in 1989 when he caused a fumble on the Eph 12-yard line with 57 seconds left to play for the historic 17-14 Eph win.

Rogers graduated from Williams with a degree in history and graduated cum laude from Georgetown Law School in 1996. Recently he joined PPI Ventures as a Managing Partner after having worked at Davidson Capital Group and the investment bank Friedman, Billings & Ramsey and having served as a Vice President at AOL.

Ted Rogers' favorite football memory from Williams is the 1989 season, perfect don’t you think?