Tre Beck didn’t have the longest run of the night, that honor going to Dalton teammate Eric Banks, who went 77 yards for a score in the Catamounts’ 42-10 win over Ringgold.
It was Beck, though, who benefited most from an awakened offensive line. He got 16 carries and ended the night with 315 yards. The record-setting North Georgia night included Beck’s average of 16.7 yards per carry. For his effort – and that of his offensive line – Beck was selected as the Times Free Press prep Player of the week.
According to Dalton coach Matt Land, the team had concentrated on offensive line play and he had emphasized finishing blocks.
“Tre is a fabulous young man who gives us the same effort every day on the practice field but games are won on the line of scrimmage, and great backs only get yards because of their line and we’re going to win games because of our blocking,” Land told the Times Free Press late Friday.
Beck actually broke his own rushing record with the 315 yards. He had broken the record of 240 yards from Torrey Love with a 294-yard effort against Rome during the 2009 season. Even more amazing is that Beck, a junior, set the record by averaging 22.4 yards per carry through the game’s first 14 minutes. Five of his carries were runs of 30 or more yards and he repeatedly broke tackles and gained much of his yards after initial contact with defenders. He also reached the 1,000-yard plateau with three regular-season games to play.
“What fans got to see tonight is what we get to see every day in practice,” Land told the Dalton Citizen-News.
“My blockers blocked well, and I couldn’t do anything without them,” Beck said. “The holes came open and I did what I could. I looked and just saw green grass ahead of me all night.”