Under The Microscope: The Tailbacks
The tailbacks are stealing the spotlight in the 2008 playoffs, and this week's regional championship games should feature some outstanding play once again....
Broad Run tailback Breon Earl will be the X-factor in Friday's game against Potomac Falls. Earl has 13 touchdowns on the season......
Photo By: Marc Le Maitre / Gameday Magazine
Potomac Falls tailback Michael Baker was held in check the first time against Broad Run, but he will need to have a better game if the Panthers want to win Friday....
Photo By: Barry deNicola / Gameday Magazine
STERLING, VA - It seems that some years are just better than others when it comes to having a stable full of dynamic tailbacks scorching defenses on the gridiron. This year is one of those years, and the talent carrying the football on Friday and Saturday should be appreciated, because a crop of players like these don't come around often.
We start with the guy who is leading all runners in the region in Chantilly's Torrian Pace. Pace has rushed for 32 touchdowns this season and 2,609 yards. He's averaged 9.4 per carry, an astonishing number given the fact he has carried the rock 277 times on the season.
I spent much of my Sunday writing about Pace and his amazing play this season, but it goes without saying that as Pace goes, so do the Chargers. Chantilly will feed their star tailback the ball plenty of times on Saturday against Oakton in the regional final, but he won't be the only dynamic player carrying the football in that game.
In fact, Oakton has three dynamic ball carriers in senior quarterback Chris Coyer, and tailbacks Trey Watts and Jonathan Meadows. Coyer is the leading rusher for the Cougars from behind center, and last week he proved once again to be the difference in a 49-43 win over West Springfield.
After watching his counterpart Bryn Renner put up big numbers (419 yards on 24 completions), Coyer matched him with 215 yards passing and 197 yards rushing. The senior signal caller had touchdown runs of 65 and 50 in the first half, and his ability to hit Watts down the field proved to be the difference.
Watts lines up in the backfield for Oakton, but he is most dangerous catching the football and returning kicks. The senior finished the game last week against the Spartans with only 3 catches, but two of them were for touchdowns of 46 and 67 yards respectively.
Meadows is the guy that gets overlooked some behind Coyer and Watts, but his play this year has been exceptional to say the least. He's averaged over 5.8 yards per carry, and has run for 10 touchdowns on the season and caught another. When the Oakton offense begins to stall, it is Meadows who becomes the catalyst, and you can expect Chantilly to key on stopping the speedster this weekend.
Of course when you are talking about tailbacks in Northern Virginia, if you don't start the conversation with Pace, you should start it with DeAntwan "Rocket" Williams from Woodbridge. The talented senior has put up similar numbers to his junior season when he ran for 26 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards. Williams has 31 touchdowns this season and 1,833 yards, averaging 8 yards per carry through 11 games.
Given the fact that Woodbridge has blown out many of its opponents this season, those numbers are amazing. The Rocket and his teammates will see a solid defense this week when Osbourn comes to town for the Northwest Regional Championship game Friday night. But if time has shown us anything, the Rocket will get his yards on Friday, and that could mean another state playoff berth for the Vikings....
The top ranked Stone Bridge Bulldogs travel on Friday to play #4 Edison for the fourth straight season with the regional championship on the line. And like in years past, both the Bulldogs and the Eagles have talented running backs.
Stone Bridge's Daniel Allen sat out of last year's championship run for the Bulldogs until the end of the season due to an ankle injury, but this year he has been awesome. The senior has rushed for 22 touchdowns on the season while racking up 1,331 yards on just 137 carries.
On the other sideline Friday, the Edison Eagles will feature a two headed monster in the backfield with Angus Harper and Stephon Robertson. Robertson has rushed for 24 touchdowns this season and Harper has scored 8 times from scrimmage. Both Robertson and Harper have averaged 11 yards per carry. Edison's dynamic duo has combined for 2,026 yards from scrimmage in 2008.
Out in Winchester, the Handley Judges are one win away from making an appearance in the state semifinals, and a large part of their success should be pointed in the direction of tailback Jeremiah Wilson. The senior has been the most dominating tailback this season in Group AA, scoring 19 times for the Judges while running for well over 1,000 yards. Wilson and the Judges host the defending state champion Monticello Mustangs on Saturday at the Bowl, and you can be assured that if Handley walks away with a win, it will be because Wilson had another big day.
In one of the most intriguing rematches from the regular season, the Broad Run Spartans host the Potomac Falls Panthers for the regional championship on Friday night. The last time the Panthers came to town, Broad Run handed them a 38-0 thumping. The Spartan defense held in check Panther tailback Michael Baker, but that is about the only time Baker hasn't dominated a game this season. The senior has rushed for 19 touchdowns on 184 carries this season, and has posted 1,424 yards from scrimmage. When Baker gets loose, the Panthers are almost always victorious. Keep an eye on the senior's stats on Friday, because it could be a major indicator as to whether or not Potomac Falls will play again this year.
For the Spartans, they rely on two guys to provide the spark for their offense. It starts with Breon Earl, who plays multiple positions in head coach Michael Burnett's offensive scheme. Whether he is running the football or catching it, the most glaring stat is how often Earl finds the endzone. Through 11 games, Earl has scored 13 times and has averaged a touchdown every 7 times he touches the football in a game.
His teammate T.J Peeler has solidified himself as one of the premier tailbacks in the area as well, scoring 15 times on 74 carries while rushing for 847 yards. So you don't have to grab a calculator, that works out to be 11.4 yards per carry. Earl and Peeler have combined for 28 touchdowns on the year, and what's scary is Peeler was hurt for a few games in the middle of the season.
It is often said that when you get into the playoffs you better be able to do two things. Run the football, and stop the other team from running the football. We know that this week's regional championships will feature teams that can flat out run the football, but the question remains, who can stop the players mentioned in this article?
That will be answered Friday and Saturday, and if a team succeeds in slowing down these talented ball carriers, then you should see them on the practice field the following week.
