Chantilly's Pace Wins All Gameday Honor
Chantilly's Torrian Pace was voted the 2008 All Gameday Group AAA Player of the Year after leading the area in rushing with over 2,600 yards and 33 touchdowns.....
Photo By: Marc Gold / Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
Torrian Pace poses with his All Gameday Player of the Year Trophy on Saturday January 10th, 2008. Pace won the award after finishing the season as the area's leading rusher....
Photo By: Marc Gold/Gameday Magazine | VIEW GALLERY
LEESBURG, VA - There are great performances, and then there are unbelievable performances. Chantilly's Torrian Pace had more unbelievable performances this past football season than anyone in the region on his way to earning the Group AAA All Gameday Player of the Year award.
The senior tailback ran for 33 touchdowns and gained over 2,600 yards on the ground in his final campaign for the Chargers. Pace's consistent play each week helped Chantilly get back to the playoffs for the 3rd straight year under head coach Mike Lalli, and make their second appearance in the regional finals.
Before the season began, many wondered just how good Pace's season would be, considering he had shared the workload in the previous two years with other tailbacks. His output a year ago put everyone on notice, and those that figured he would have a monster year figured right.
Pace ran for over 200 yards in a game 6 times this fall, and gained over 300 yards 3 times. The crazy thing about Torrian Pace's stats is that everyone on the other side of the ball knew he was going to carry the ball a ton, and yet he still ran all over them.
Pace is not a burner, but if you watch his highlights you will notice that when he gets his 220lb frame moving, few run him down. Defenders just have a knack of bouncing off of him, and his ability to see a hole when one appears that it isn't there is astonishing.
The greatest compliment that you could say about Pace though is the kind of young man he is. He's humble, quiet, and just a hard working guy. He credits his teammates first and he does all of the little things that makes a great leader.
Pace beat out Edison's Stephon Robertson and Oakton's Chris Coyer to win the All Gameday Player of the Year award for Group AAA, and he became the first Chantilly player to win the honor. After accepting the trophy, Pace said he was surprised.
"When they said my name, I was really happy," Pace said. "I didn't expect that. It means a lot. Everything that I've done this year and all of the hard work that me and my teammates did this year, it just means a lot."
Pace had many performances that stood out in 2008, but the one that came to mind for him that he will never forget was against Chantilly's biggest rival.
"Against Westfield, we were down by 13 points and we never gave up," Pace said. "That was my most memorable moment."
Pace scored 5 touchdowns in that game and ran for 351 yards in the win that propelled the Chargers to the regional finals.
Pace's attention will now turn to finding a new uniform to wear next fall, but long after he takes his game to the collegiate level, people will be talking about his senior season and the amazing performances he put on.
