Staff Photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press South Pittsburg players rush to claim their gold trophy while celebrating their win over Jo Byrns with a final score of 41-6 during the Division I Class A state championship game Friday afternoon in Cookeville, Tenn.COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – When the state’s Mr. Football award finalists were announced one month ago, Raquis Hale had a decision to make.
Once South Pittsburg’s senior running back learned his name was not one of the three on the list of Class A back-of-the-year finalists, he could have pouted. Instead, he used the disappointment as the extra motivation needed to spark an incredible four-week run.
“I felt like I was one of the better players in our class, but for whatever reason I didn’t make the list,” Hale said. “It actually made me want to prove myself a lot more to everybody in the state.
“Coach [Vic Grider] said it was up to me if I wanted to be the MVP of the state game. I had to help us get there and then prove it. I took that pretty serious.”
In the Pirates’ first three playoff games, Hale showed how serious he was to get the team back to the title game. And Friday afternoon he capped it with an emphatic state championship performance that assured his name will be remembered among the best in title-game history.
Hale’s 228-yard, five-touchdown day not only led the Pirates to a 41-6 Class 1A state championhip victory but made him the school’s career rushing leader as well.
It also helped erase the memory of last year’s two-point loss in the championship game.
Those totals came against a touted Jo Byrns defense that had allowed only two teams to rush for more than 138 yards this season and had held nine opponents to fewer than 100 yards.
“Raquis just looked like a guy with something to prove,” Grider said. “His feelings were hurt when he wasn’t named a Mr. Football finalist. That put a pretty big chip on his shoulder, and he kept it there the whole way through the playoffs.”
Hale ran for 1,076 yards in four playoff games, averaging more than 13 yards per carry, and scored 15 touchdowns. He finished the season with 2,454 yards, passing former Pirates runner Robert Robinson by 15 yards in one fewer game.
As he clutched the state championship MVP plaque, Hale said he valued that hardware more than he would have the Mr. Football trophy.
“I wouldn’t trade this right here for anything,” Hale said. “I made a promise to my dad and my family that I would prove to everybody how good I can be. I made a promise to a lot of people that I would help make up for us coming up short last year.”
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Faulkner Co. Fair Parade
At Conway on Tuesday, September 16 to kick off the Faulkner County Fair!