Whether he was blasting through the middle of the defense or breaking away down the sideline, there was hardly anything that was going to slow down Jeremiah Sawyer in Tyner's season opener.
The 5-foot-10, 208-pound running back scored on five of his 13 touches on his way to 257 all-purpose yards in the Rams' 42-18 road win over Central. That effort has led to Sawyer being selected as Times Free Press player of the week.
Sawyer raced past defenders for scoring runs of 80 and 90 yards, and he also delivered punishing hits to find the end zone when given red-zone opportunities.
"I feel a lot stronger than last season," Sawyer said. "My ability to break tackles has improved in a major way. I am going to keep fighting after contact no matter what. Football is my biggest love because it helps me release anger and it's a sport I have played since I was four years old."
Rams coach Wayne Turner knows which player he can turn to when it comes to critical moments, even though the team lost standouts such as Jeremiah Batiste (Miami-Ohio signee), Mr. Football semifinalist Martavius Ryals, Kamden Edwards and Rashun Evans to graduation.
"I am always looking forward to being a big player that has a huge role when it comes to clutch situations," said Sawyer, who was also a TFP Dynamite Dozen selection. "If Coach (Turner) needs a first down, I will get him one. If my team needs a score, I am going to run as hard as I can to get there."
Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon / Tyner senior running back Jeremiah Sawyer scores one of his five touchdowns in last Friday's road win over Central.Sawyer has an appreciation for an older generation of running backs who also set a high standard when it came to running with physicality. Sawyer's favorite NFL players to watch video of are Jerome Bettis, Eddie George, Bo Jackson and Adrian Peterson.
All four of those legendary backs are known as very physical runners, and by watching them, Sawyer feels he can bring a similar style to his game, too.
Sawyer has rushed for a combined 333 yards and scored eight touchdowns against Central the past two years to go with more than 100 return yards. He and his teammates hope to keep things rolling as they travel to face fellow unbeaten Bledsoe County (2-0) in a Region 3-2A matchup this Friday.
"The statement I want to leave behind is that I was one of the greatest running backs in Tyner history and also the state of Tennessee my senior season," Sawyer said.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.