PHOTO BY BETH FOLEY
Frankston ’ s Ketrich Harmon , left , and Bryan Blackwell , right , sign letters-of-intent to play football at West Texas A & M University Wednesday . Standing behind are Frankston head football coach Sam Wells , Frankston athletic director Robert Loper and assistant football coach Matt Nally .
Loper coached at Frankston , Gary , New Summerfield , Bullard and Neches high schools en route to winning 917 games during his career . His teams made 22 playoff appearances , which included 15 district championships , six regional tournaments and a trip to the state championship game , where his team lost by one point . He coached for 50 seasons , retiring in 2016 . Loper played at Jacksonville High School before getting his degrees at Lon Morris College and Stephen F . Austin State University . He also received his master ’ s in elementary education and a mid-management degree from SFA .
Loper ’ s career started at Neches in 1966 . Stints at Gary from 1967-71 , New Summerfield from 1971-73 and Bullard from 1973- 80 followed . He spent a season as an assistant under coaching legend Vernon Harton during his first year at Bullard before becoming head coach the following season .
After the 1980 season , he decided to return to his hometown of Jacksonville where he became the junior high coordinator and assistant to coaching great John Alexander . The varsity sideline called his name , however , and Loper started coaching at Frankston in 1988 where he led the Indians to 12 district championships in his last 17 years of coaching .
Loper ’ s years in Frankston were memorable to say the least , and even included a comeback from a heart attack in 2008 . Loper did not miss a single game . He earned 610 wins at Frankston in the
PHOTO BY RICK KRETZSCHMAR
Frankston ’ s Kendrick Rogers ( left ) runs down the court while coach Robert Loper looks on during a Class 3A Region III semifinal against Winnie East Chambers on March 4 in Hewitt . Rogers has been named the Herald-Press 2015-16 Boys Basketball Player of the Year .
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