In his first year on the Highland soccer team, that has been the case, so far. But, he's not so worried about it anymore.

"Last year, I was afraid of getting fouled," Rogers said. "But as soon as I got on the field, everything changed."

Rogers isn't affected by the opposing defenses marking him or maybe even double-teaming him. That is evident by the team-leading five goals he has scored this season.

"He's a home-run kind of player. He can score pretty much whenever he wants," Highland coach Eric Bliss said. "He's a one-in-a-million kid. He's got the speed. He has a nose for the goal and he can finish."

Like he did against Olympus on March 14. Although the Rams lost 3-2, it was Rogers' goal that pushed the game into overtime.

The Titans had a corner kick in the second half. Bliss moved Rogers to the outside to create space for him. After the corner kick, Highland went on the counter-attack. Rogers beat two defenders by himself and when the Olympus goalie came out to meet Rogers, he calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net.

"What's even more amazing is he's only a ninth-grader and people know who he is," Bliss said. "He's made a reputation for himself at the club level and people know who he is. He has a man marking him and sometimes, has two people on him."

Playing for the Sparta club team has given Rogers experience beyond his years. Before he entered high school, he knew he was going to play for the varsity team. It wasn't cockiness, just confidence in knowing that he would work hard to earn that spot.

"I knew I was going to play because I've been working hard for a long time," Rogers said. "I've been waiting to go to high school to play high school soccer. I always try to have high goals and then reach that goal."

That confidence is evident on the field. When he's playing, he doesn't care how much bigger his defender is or how much experience his defender has - Rogers just focuses on playing the best soccer he can.

Pressure is not a factor for Rogers and Bliss is impressed with how well his freshman phenom has handled himself.

"I've been floored with his maturity," Bliss said. "He understands that he will be heavily defended and he's still scoring goals. He's very calm and he's a hard worker in practice."

When he draws attention from opposing defense, that leaves his teammates open for scoring opportunities. And, players such as Erik Cortez and Ever Garcia are very capable of scoring. They have four and three goals, respectively, on the season.

"Without a doubt, he brings a different dimension to the team," Bliss said. "He can score at any moment but he can also create room and space for the other players. We have far exceeded my expectations. I thought we were going to struggle to make playoffs, but right now, we could be in the mix for a region title."

mthach@sltrib.com

Moving up

* Highland freshman James Rogers has scored five goals this season.

* Entering the week, the Rams are 5-3-0 overall and 4-2-0 in Region 6.