There are times when less is more.
Denzell Boyd was on the field less last Friday than the week before and the difference was eye-popping: 240 yards on 23 carries with six touchdowns in McMinn Central's 41-20 victory at Notre Dame.
"It was one of those things," Chargers coach Josh Goodin said. "He had some really good blocks and got some great holes but when a linebacker or safety began coming up he either hit another gear or gave them a juke and he was gone."
Boyd was selected as Times Free Press player of the week for his efforts.
In the opener, Boyd was playing in the backfield on both sides of the ball. He had just eight carries for 31 yards and a touchdown and two catches for 60 yards and another score and a 65-yard kickoff return in a loss to McMinn County.
Goodin and his staff began to wonder; 10 touches on offense and two TDs?
They pared his defensive time with the idea of keeping him fresh for offense.
"Watching film on Friday night while getting stats, it was amazing to see what he was doing and some of the cuts he was getting," said Goodin, whose booster club insisted on stopping on the way back to Inglewood to reward the team for its victory.
"We were going to just stop at McDonald's in Ooltewah but they wouldn't take us [such a large group] so, of all places, we wound up at Taco Bell. Great postgame meal, huh?" he added.
It probably didn't hurt Boyd, a 5-foot-8, 160-pounder who'll need to pack on a few more pounds in order to secure a college scholarship.
"He had a heck of a night offensively but he also could be a darn good defensive player for somebody," Goodin said. "We don't do 40-yard [dash] times. I know they're popular but the times don't really translate to the field. Denzell's on-the-field speed is unreal. He has that extra gear and not many are going to catch him when he gets going."
Boyd may find the going tougher Thursday against Polk County in the teams' first district game of the year.
"They're a different animal," Goodin said of the 1-1 Wildcats. "We have played physical teams, but they're another story."
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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