DUNLAP, Tenn. - If he gets a crease, a sliver of daylight, Brandon Rudd knows what to do.
Although likely grudgingly, York Institute players can testify to that.
In Sequatchie County's 41-15 victory last week, the senior running back squirted, sprang and sprinted for 278 yards and five touchdowns.
"He had two pretty long (scoring runs) called back, or it could've been a performance for the ages," Indians coach Adam Caine said.
It was Sequatchie's fourth straight win to open 2015, marking the first time since 1996 - when Mike Zeller was in his second (and final) year as head coach - the Indians had achieved that feat. It used to be common during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Sid Fritts was Sequatchie's coach.
Fritts' Indians went six games before losing in 1993, a year after going undefeated through seven games, but neither of those seasons matched the accomplishments of 1990 and 1991, when Sequatchie posted back-to-back 12-1 records.
No one is thinking glory year yet, though.
"I had just finished talking to the team after the win (at York)," Caine recalled. "It couldn't have been more than 12 seconds later that somebody walked up and said, 'If you want to stick around here, you better win that next one.'"
With such sentiment, it would be hard for Caine or his team to look beyond "that next one," which happens to be tonight against the Indians' neighbor up Highway 127 - Bledsoe County.
"We've tried to instill first things first - don't get ahead of yourself, and try to get a little better each week," Caine said. "High school football - so much is playing for each other and playing together."
That has been the case thus far, although Caine has been described as a strict and demanding coach, yet one in whom the players believe and trust.
Caine and offensive coordinator John Durmon strolled through the locker room last Thursday, and while it wasn't a pigpen, it didn't measure up to their standards. There was retribution the next day - even though it was game day - as a reminder to take care of business.
"He's very strict, but it's been great for the community and for the team. He's big on manners," Rudd said. "He instills confidence and he has a lot of positive ways, and, yeah, there is a sense of trust."
It didn't take long for the first-year head coach to figure out he could trust Rudd to help the Indians.
"The thing that sticks out in my mind about Rudd - the first day of spring football, he shows up with an ankle that's swollen up and black and blue. He'd fallen on the steps at his house over the weekend," Caine recalled. "A lot of kids would've sat out the whole spring with that. He never missed a day, never missed a carry."
Rudd deflected any praise directed his way for last week's showcase effort.
"It was mainly just my five guys - Peyton Tate, Austin Miller, Noah Smith, John Higgins and Zane Swanger - up front," he said. "I told them if they'd block the big boys up front, I'd get the rest done, and there were some good blocks by our receivers. A couple of plays I got touched, but they were creating holes I could've driven a truck through."
Rudd is enjoying the season and taking last week's showing in stride.
"The key is knowing what we're supposed to do. We watch a lot of film, then go out and practice everything we've learned," he said. "They put me at tailback to get the ball in the end zone. That's just part of everybody doing their jobs.
"We're a team. This is the closest I have ever been with any of these guys."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.