East Ridge junior running back Traneil Moore watches the Pioneers' defense during Friday night's game.Honorable mention
Trey Harris, North Jackson: He ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another 111 yards and a score as the Chiefs advanced in to the second round of Alabama’s Class 4A playoffs.Justin Cooke, Soddy-Daisy: The junior QB led a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempts against Oak Ridge in the Class 5A playoffs, throwing for 329 yards and running for another 56 in the 45-33 loss.Jake Sartin, Whitwell: He topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark with a 172-yard, three-touchdown showing in a Class 1A playoff win over Moore County.
He's 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds. He's a running back, a really good running back, and Smith County discovered how good Friday.
Traneil Moore accounted for five touchdowns - four were part of a 236-yard rushing performance and the other came on a 55-yard reception - as East Ridge improved to 11-0 with a 35-28 overtime victory at home in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs.
For his performance, Moore has been selected as the Waffle House All-Star player of the week by the Times Free Press sports staff.
"He's a freak, man," East Ridge coach Tracy Malone said of the slender-looking junior. "Around here the running back discussion begins with Charles White and Rodney Ballard. I've got old heads talking that Traneil is better than both of them."
White went through East Ridge about the same time as Gerald Riggs at Red Bank, and the two were acclaimed then to be the best running backs in the Chattanooga area. Ballard signed with Tennessee after his senior season.
Moore got only a couple of snaps in the season opener against Polk County, sat out the Pioneers' game with Loudon and played little more than a half against Howard. Yet in a little more than seven regular-season games, he accumulated 1,444 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
The catch he made Friday was only his second of the year.
"We haven't needed to throw to him, honestly," Malone said.
There were against Smith County. Facing third-and-9 during the fourth quarter, the Pioneers called Moore's number on a wheel route. The defense was protecting the sticks, not wanting to give up the first down.
"The safety tried to recover, but Traneil caught it, made a move, and it was all downhill from there," Malone said, replaying the all-important score.
It's another addition to Moore's repertoire.
"He has the physical intangibles and he has the breakaway speed, but the thing that makes him unique is that he does a super job of using his blocks and he has unbelievable vision," Malone said. "He can make people miss, and most big backs don't have that."
What is perhaps most endearing about Moore is the mutual admiration he and his teammates share, especially the guys clearing the way: linemen Deoandre Chambliss, Thomas Conry, Tre Hubbard, Will Mercer, Alex Moore and Pete Sexton; tight ends Jordan Harvey and Braxton Moffett; blocking back Jeremiah McKibben.
"He's so humble, and he's really good about sharing the credit," Malone said. "It's been so good for us. When we line up in a goal-line set with three tight ends and two backs, people know what's coming, and those guys are still getting it done."
Moore and the Pioneers have a rematch in the second round of state this week as they host Chattanooga Christian, a 23-22 winner at DeKalb County on Friday. East Ridge beat the Chargers 23-13 in the final week of the regular season.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.