At football camps and combines, Columbus High School running back Damian Baker and Noxubee County wide receiver Terrence Barron have never worried about looking good on a scale or for a tape measure.
For The Dispatch co-Offensive Players of the Year, it is about producing on the field and making opponents regret dismissing them at first glance.
“Most people always see my numbers and then look at me and say, ‘I thought you were bigger than that’, so I’m always going to be short for my position,” Barron said. “That doesn’t mean I can’t produce and be a big-time player wherever I am.”
Barron, a 5-foot-9 receiver, had 42 of the Tigers’ 87 catches this season for 783 yards and eight touchdowns. These numbers came even after quarterback Deangelo Ballard went down with a leg injury early in the season.
“Two other guys were out as well and we had a new quarterback, so I said I just had to take over games at that point for us to win,” Barron said. “Teams would double-cover me all game, and it’s frustrating, but I had to find different ways to help our offense.”
Noxubee County simplified things in a 22-17 victory against Class 5A power West Point and got the football to Barron.
“He kept telling the coaching staff in that game, ‘Coach I’m open, get me the ball and I’ll score’, and he won that game for us single-handedly,” Noxubee County coach Tyrone Shorter said.
West Point essentially played Barron one-on-one the entire game thinking quarterback Kamal Chamberlain wouldn’t be able to make accurate throws from the pocket. All Chamberlain had to do was put it near Barron and it was a long gain for the Tigers. Barron had six catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
“If you want to be considered as one of the best, you have to want the ball in crunch time,” Barron said. “I wanted coach Shorter to be able to beat them because he always has believed in me.”
Baker had the same philosophy at Columbus, especially down the stretch. In the final four regular-season games, Baker rushed for 700 yards — many of them coming in the fourth quarter — to help the Falcons win three times and fall just short of a playoff berth.
“I don’t like to brag and talk a lot, but our team had a senior class that wanted to put the work in, and I think opponents considered our offense was one of the most explosive in the state,” Baker said.
The offense changed after Baker’s sophomore system from a traditional I-formation package to a spread-style offense in hopes of capitalizing on the speed of the skill players. At first, Baker wasn’t a fan of the change, but he found a position in the system and rushed for 1,408 yards and had 239 yards receiving.
“It was a tough year for him last season because he was used to running downhill, but once he saw how this offense was going to help him be patient as a runner, he fell in love with it,” Columbus coach Tony Stanford said. “There were times he just found an extra gear late in a game to carry us. Not every kid has that extra gear.”
In each of the six games Baker had multiple touchdowns (he finished with a team-high 14), Columbus earned a victory.
“Coach put the game on my shoulders a lot this season and some people think that’s pressure, but I wanted to respond to the faith,” Baker said.
Baker’s only regret about the 2011 season is Columbus fell one game short of making the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
“I really wanted to make the playoffs, not for only myself but for our coaches because we wanted to work hard for them,” Baker said. “I agree we’ve got some young players coming back that are going to be really special and know they can get even further next season.”
Baker is still undecided on where he’ll play college football next season, but Stanford is trying to get scouts to recognize the 5-foot-9, 185-pound senior tailback is talented enough to play a significant role at the next level.
“He is a special talent and could be special for anybody in the spread offense that everybody runs nowadays,” Stanford said. “He’s just one of those kids that has to touch the football a few times before you realize he’s one of the best.”
Barron, who was selected to play in the Mississippi-Alabama All-Star game this season, is leaning toward signing to play at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“I would see other guys in the paper and when I was able to have that success and get my name out there it meant something to me because of the work it took,” Barron said.
In his second season as the head coach at Noxubee County, Shorter understood early on Barron was his go-to player.
“I tell everybody if he was 6-foot-3 then everybody in the country would want him because he’s a great player, great kid, great teammate, and a leader on the field,” Shorter said. “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how big a kid is if he’s always getting the ball when the team needs a play.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.