It’s perhaps no coincidence the way Battle Ground coach Mike Kesler describes senior Steven Hancock ehoes similarly to what Ridgefield’s Scott Rice says about his senior, Hunter Abrams.
Strong, quick, explosive.
On offense or defense?
Try both.
Hancock and Abrams have shined at tailback this season, most notably in consecutive weeks with career-high numbers in carries.
Abrams rushed 39 times for 188 yards in Ridgefield’s win over Washougal two weeks ago, while Hancock last week broke an eight-year school record for single-game rushing yards on 54 carries in Battle Ground’s victory over Heritage.
Not only are these ball-carriers absorbing big hits, but giving poundings on defense, too. Acceleration leads to explosion on both sides of the ball.
Bruising back(er)
Looks can be deceiving, but at 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds, Abrams is coming at defenses at full force.
“I’m not the fanciest,” he said, “but I just give it my all on every run.”
And he’s effective, too. Abrams is on pace for consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons and more importantly, back 100 percent healthy back playing both sides of the ball full-time.
The senior suffered an ankle injury in last year’s season opener against La Center, which limited his snaps on defense the rest of 2018. He became primarily an offensive-only player and was one of five players in Southwest Washington to hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
Now, Abrams is back doing damage at inside linebacker, too. His 36 tackles ranks among the team leaders, and also has two sacks and three fumble recoveries.
Rice, Ridgefield’s first-year head coach, commends his workhorse tailback who uses his lower center of gravity as an advantage. That, in turn, leads to more yards after contact. Abrams has 681 yards on 125 carries and eight touchdowns in Rice’s spread offense.
“There’s no better feeling than running as hard as you can and finding the endzone,” Abrams said.
Said Rice: “You better hit him with a couple of dudes.”
Ridgefield enters Friday’s game against Woodland on a three-game winning streak with victories over Mark Morris, Washougal and R.A. Long. The 24-21 road win at Washougal two weeks ago is where Abrams rushed 39 times out of Ridgefield’s 55 total plays. Two of those rushes went for scores.
“The whole team was grinding through that game,” Abrams said. “That game, the (offensive) line was killing it, and did a good job of keeping me healthy.”
Adrenaline kept Abrams’ focus away from the poundings until the next day. One way coaches can give their running backs more responsibility while exposing fewer hits is the passing game. Abrams has nine catches this season, and Rice goes a step further when trying to preserve tailbacks’ health.
“We do our best to get him off the field on defense,” the coach said, “because we need him on offense.”
Explosive (edge)rusher
Even days after breaking Kevin Haynes’ single-game rushing record of 316 yards that stood since 2012, Hancock knows he could’ve done better.
“I’m looking at all the mistakes on film,” he said, “and I get more and more mad at myself.”
The senior had four fumbles in last Friday’s school-record performance of 362 rushing yards, but kept faith in himself — with a boost from the coaches — to keep pounding away.
Hancock, at 6-2 and 180 pounds, had a breakout season in 2018 as an all-league defensive end and could be on his way to a similar honor at tailback. And if there’s ever a time Hancock isn’t on the field, it’s few and far between.
His 159 total carries — with four games of 20 or more carries — leads all of Southwest Washington. He also is pushing 10 quarterback sacks on defense, his head coach said.
As the carries piled up last Friday, Hancock still caused havoc on defense. He sat out just four defensive plays, and as the game progressed, the ball didn’t feel heavier, but the hits did.
“They start to hurt more and more,” he said. “But I get in a groove sometimes where I feel really comfortable with what I’m doing.”
And it’s worth it, Hancock said. Kesler said the senior continues to progress playing tailback after team necessity led to switching Hancock from receiver to the backfield on offense. He’s rushed for 820 yards and 10 touchdowns in six games.
Kesler said the offensive line — Alex Mayer, Mason Wann, Brody Brown, Maksym Bahnyuk and Ashton Leveque, plus Brody Smith, Chris Dunne and Richardo Lara at H-back and tight end — had its best game of the season last week to help Hancock gain initial yardage.
Hancock carried the ball in all but two second-half plays, and scored all six of Battle Ground’s touchdowns, including the go-ahead 1-yard plunge in the fourth quarter to seal the Tigers’ first league win. Without a doubt, Hancock knows the offensive line keeps him going in more ways than one.
“They’re my main support during a play and after a play,” he said.
