Williams playing every snap in trenches for Eagles

photo Rhea County senior lineman Jake Williams.

EVENSVILLE, Tenn. - Jake Williams is in the Rhea County record book.

The senior two-way lineman set a school record with a maximum bench-press of 375 pounds during spring workouts.

His strength and overall fitness has paid off for Williams and the Eagles who will play in a Class-5A state semifinal on Friday against Knoxville West. Williams has played every snap on both sides of the ball in every close and meaningful game this season. That's four games including last Friday's 35-21 quarterfinal win at Oak Ridge.

"I don't like coming out," Williams said before practice on Tuesday. "There's no reason to come out. It's not fun sitting there watching.

"I feel like I'm not helping if I'm sitting and watching."

The the starting right tackle, Williams has helped the Eagles amass nearly 4,800 rushing yards, an average of 369 rushing yards per game. Zack Daoust has 1,571 yards, Cody Bice has 1,139 yards and Jacob York has 863 rushing yards this season.

"I've been running behind him since eighth grade, and he's one of the strongest linemen we've got," Daoust said. "The whole line takes care of us pretty well.

"I like running behind him on a pull because he's pretty quick for how big he is. If he's out in the open field running at you, it's a scary sight."

After all, Williams is listed at 5-foot-11 and says he's about 270 pounds depending on what he ate for breakfast and lunch.

As a defensive lineman -- coach Mark Pemberton moves him between tackle and end depending on the opponent and the situation -- Williams has helped the Eagles limit opponents to a total of 154 points this year. That's an average of 11.8 points per game. All but one victory came by 10 points or more.

"He's not a real verbal guy, but he's a workaholic," said Pemberton, who noted that Tusculum will offer a scholarship to Williams where that staff will determine whether he plays on the offensive line or defensive line.

"Jacob is one of my best friends, and I know he's always got my back," York said. "He's a boy-dog. He gets stuff done for us. He plays hard, aggressive football and gets after it."

It's very likely that Williams will have to play every snap on Friday against the Rebels (12-1).

"The further you go, you'd better have your good people in, and he's definitely one of our top guys," Pemberton said. "It didn't seem to bother him in our last game.

"He didn't look fatigued, and that says a lot about how he's prepared."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP

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