HAMILTON — Sprinters have one goal in mind: Get to their destination as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, though, the quickest — or easiest — route to paydirt isn’t a straight line. You often see that in football, when running backs, blessed with the speed to burn or to juke, stretch plays east and west in an effort to get to the corner. If they get there, all they need to do is hit the accelerator and dance down the sidelines to the end zone.
Talented running backs can make it look and sound so easy, but it rarely is that easy. That’s why tailbacks like Keshon Heard rely on fullbacks and offensive linemen to carve holes and to lead the way to six points.
But following a block can take you inside the tackles, where hulking linemen and hurtling linebackers await to knock a running back off course. The thought of getting swallowed up can be enough to tempt a running back like Heard, who is one of the state’s fastest sprinters in track and field, to abandon the convoy approach and take the solitary path to the corner.
This season, though, Heard has watched and listened and is learning to trust his teammates and his vision. His maturation as a running back is a primary reason why he ranks with the state’s top running backs and why the Hamilton High School football team is contending for a playoff berth out of Class 1A, Region 1.
Last week, Heard rushed for 330 yards and four touchdowns in a 36-22 victory against Thrasher that helped Hamilton improve to 5-2 and 3-1 in the region.
For his accomplishments, Heard is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“He is getting better every week running the ball,” Hamilton coach Ray Weeks said. “We have moved him around a little bit on offense. We have put him in the slot sometimes and we will bring him in motion and hand it to him or put him in motion and throw it to him. He has responded really well to that, and it has helped us offensively because it has opened up things for other guys to make plays.”
Heard’s effort Friday night eclipsed a 323-yard rushing performance by former Hamilton High standout Deion Howard in a game against Hatley in 2012. Those two efforts rank among the best single-game rushing showings by a running back at Hamilton High. For the season, heard has 1,108 yards, which puts him in a group of 12 running backs in the state of Mississippi with more than 1,000 yards, according to the Mississippi High School Activities Association. Heard’s rushing total is the highest total by a Class 1A running back, according to the totals posted on the MHSAA website. Coffeeville’s Antavius Moody has 1,040 yards through seven games.
For Heard, a junior, the game against Thrasher was the culmination of watching film and listening to Weeks and junior running back Samuel Peloquin, his lead blocker.
“(Coach) has been telling me to follow the blocks from the slot and from the running back and to choose the hold and to be patient while I run it,” said Heard, who is 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. “Samuel has been telling me to follow off his blocks. Samuel is a pretty great blocker.”
Heard said his relationship with Peloquin, who has been blocking for him since he was 12 years old, has made it easier for him to trust his instincts and to read the blocks to find the right seam or hole. His track record this season shows he is having success. Heard has rushed for more than 100 yards in six games this season. He also has rushed for 15 touchdowns, and has had to games with three rushing scores (Potts Camp, Vardaman) to go with his four-score game against Thrasher. Weeks said Heard also has blossomed this season as a receiver. He said Heard saw playing time as a running back and as a slot receiver last season. Weeks said the improvement Heard has made on his vision has helped him as a runner and as a receiver.
“His vision has gotten a lot better as the season has gone on,” Weeks said. “Early in the year, he was trying to bounce everything outside and just use his speed. We have talked to him and worked with him on his vision and reading his blocks. That has helped him out a lot because teams know his speed and are trying to cut that off.”
Weeks said Heard is the latest of three brothers he has coached. Zarrat Sims was a dual-threat athlete at Hamilton High before moving on to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Sims is now at Coahoma C.C. Quinshay Heard teamed with Keshon last season to lead Hamilton back to the playoffs. Quinshay is redshirting at East Central C.C. this season.
Weeks said Heard can be “one of — if not the — best to come through here” if he continues to work hard and develop. He said he doesn’t think Heard has realized his potential, but he believes that could come if Heard keeps watching, listening, and learning.
“Seeing it on film is really what opened his eyes to it,” Weeks said. “He realized, ‘Hey, I have to do that.’ Putting in that yardage perspective has helped.”
Heard’s speed can make most tacklers miss. As a freshman, Heard recorded a time of 10.82 seconds at the Class 1A North State meet. But defenses can take away speed by bottling up the outside and forcing a running back back to the inside, where a sea of bodies makes it difficult to navigate quickly.
Weeks knew Heard might prefer to bounce things outside and avoid the traffic inside, so he focused on showing his junior standout how he could go from 150 yards to 300 yards. He showed Heard how many more yards could be gained if he stayed behind his blocks and then picked out holes after he penetrated the defensive line. He realized he made an impression on Heard when he saw his eyes light up and he realized he could gain so many more yards.
Heard didn’t imagine he could gain that many yards in one game, but he praised his blockers for helping him eclipse the 300-yard mark. He hopes he can continue to stay patient and to read blocks to have even bigger games down the stretch. Hamilton will need Heard to deliver because it plays Biggersville at 7 p.m. Friday before it closes the regular season with games against Coldwater, Smithville, and Coffeeville. The race for the top four playoff spots out of Region 1 likely will come down to Coffeeville, Falkner, Smithville, and Hamilton.
“I think it easier (than he expected) because I am being more patient with my running instead of trying to get to the outside each time,” said Heard, who also plays cornerback. “I think it is easier trying to read my blocks.
“I think I am having a pretty good season, and the team is doing pretty good, too. Our coaches always told me I needed to be a better leader, and I am trying to do that all season. I am working on that and getting better at it each week.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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