CALHOUN, Ga. – Running backs come in all shapes and sizes with a myriad of various skill sets.
You’ve got your Derrick Henry-type bruisers, your Barry Sanders-esque jitterbugs and everything in between. A very few seem to have been born to play the position. The rest built their game the hard way.
Jerrian Hames is the perfect example of making himself into a backfield weapon, though in the Calhoun High School senior’s case it was, at least at first, out of necessity.
“I used to play backyard football with my older brother, and I was always the youngest one out there,” Hames said when asked how he has been able to forge more than 3,000 rushing yards combined this season and last despite being 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds.
“These guys were like four years older than I was, but I just wanted to play football. We’re talking about playing with state champions, 11 on 11. I found out I’ve got to make people miss because I was small. There is no way I can afford to get hit in the face. I guess that’s where I learned how to make big plays and stay healthy.”
Hames has gone from backyard legend to star tailback for the Yellow Jackets (9-3), who will host Coffee (9-2) in a GHSA Class AAAAA quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday. He enters the game with 1,573 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns this season after running for 1,544 yards and 23 scores for a 10-win team in 2019.
Though the numbers are similar, Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said Hames has improved in a number of ways this year.
“First of all, he’s worked to get bigger in the weight room, and it’s helped him during games,” said Stephenson, who also praised the improvement of the offensive line. “He’s also matured into a leader. He isn’t afraid to get on the linemen if they miss a block, but he’s the first one to praise them when he scores or has a big run.”
Which, obviously, is often. So often, in fact, that his mere presence on the field keeps even stout defenses on edge. He ripped first-round opponent Lithia Springs for 238 yards on 35 carries, a 46-21 win in which Calhoun was a perfect 16-of-16 passing with three touchdowns.
“You don’t get those kind of numbers unless you are throwing it when you want to,” said Stephenson, whose offense has passed for nearly 2,500 yards this season. “If you can establish the run it’s going to be productive, and with Jerrian back there, teams know he can break the big one at any moment.”
The big ones get the press and lead the highlights, but it’s Hames’ ability to get something out of nothing that continues to impress his coach.
“He’s got very good vision, and he’s very tough,” Stephenson said. “He sees things and sees where he needs to cut before he gets there. It’s amazing how many times he turns no-yard gains into 5-yard gains, and 10-yard gains into 15-to-20-yard gains.
“Every week he surprises me with something. There was a game earlier this year against Cedartown, a team that’s still playing. He made two plays that made the difference. On one he didn’t get much blocking and basically willed himself into the end zone. The other was a screen pass that he somehow managed to avoid tacklers. That play sealed a 14-7 win.
“What I’ve learned is you just have to keep feeding him the ball.”
Of course, the big runs are what makes teammates, coaches and fans gasp. He had an 80-yard touchdown run this year, as well as more 30-plus-yard runs than Stephenson can count. Asked to explain how those game-changing plays come about, Hames goes back to the start.
“Backyard football, that’s how I explain it,” he said, letting out a chuckle. “When it comes to the long runs, I never really see it until I get to full speed. My mind is racing, and when I see it it’s like I just know where to go and I reach a different gear.”
A lack of ideal size for college football has hurt Hames on the recruiting front, though he just picked up his first offer from the University of Pikeville – an NAIA program in Kentucky – and has been in contact with Georgia State among others.
“It’s going better now,” Hames explained. “The playoff run has helped. I’m going to do all I can to make sure it doesn’t end Friday.”
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Calhoun’s Will Seamons scores a 2-point conversion against McCallie on Sept. 11 at Finley Stadium.Breaking down the matchup
The first meeting between these programs comes at Phil Reeve Stadium in the GHSA Class AAAAA quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to face either Cartersville or Ware County next week.
The Trojans were a power in AAAAAA before being moved down this year, while the Jackets were an annual force in AAA before moving up. Each is a No. 3 seed out of a tough region – six of the eight quarterfinal teams in AAAAA are from Coffee’s Region 1 or Calhoun’s Region 7 – and each comes in after defeating a region champion a week ago.
Coffee’s biggest strength on offense is its variety of playmakers. Quarterback A.J. Wilkerson has passed for 1,448 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 400 yards, Maurice Turner has more than 1,000 total yards – including 100-plus rushing yards in each of the two playoff wins, 31-7 over Ola and 24-9 over Starr’s Mill – and Kenneth Davis, A.J. Fuller and Brady Skipper each has more than 400 yards of offense. The Trojans also have one of the state’s top kickers in Noah Sayler, who this season has put 47 of 64 kickoffs into the end zone and has made 11 field goals.
The top task for Calhoun’s offense will be to neutralize linebackers Brandon High, Trejan Landers and Jacob Lindsey while at the same time fending off linemen Jalell Graves and Arlis Sutton, who have combined for 19 tackles for loss. That job belongs to linemen Will Hawkins, Kendrick Kirby, Reed Randall, Jason Warren and “co-centers” Nick Prater and Brad Stone.
When given time, Calhoun’s Christian Lewis has shined in the playoffs with six touchdown passes, giving him 25 this season. Running back Jerrian Hames has nearly 400 yards in playoff wins over Lithia Springs, 46-21, and Clarke Central, 33-14, and receivers Cole Speer (1,084 yards with 10 touchdowns), Will Seamons (445 with eight) and Quin Smith (338 with five) have proven to be reliable and talented targets for Lewis.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.