News-Times Staff
Even at schools in the lower classifications, it’s rare to see a freshman jump right into varsity football.
It’s even rarer to see them dominate.
But for Foreman’s Chris Haywood, that has been the case since the moment he stepped on to the football field as a varsity player.
As a freshman, Haywood had 98 tackles, including a whopping 48 for a loss, which led the entire state regardless of class.
For an encore as a sophomore, Haywood enters tonight’s semifinal showdown against Junction City with 70 tackles on the season with 37 of those stops going for a loss along with seven sacks.
Suffice it to say that the Dragons will certainly be aware of Haywood’s presence.
“He’s a very good player,” Junction City coach Steven Jones said. “He’s in the backfield more times than not.”
For Foreman coach Mark King, Haywood is the complete package both on and off the field.
“He’s still growing,” King said. “He’s 6-3 right now, probably 240 pounds. He runs a 4.7/40, extremely strong. He has a wingspan where he can stand in the middle of a room and touch both walls, and he’s a great kid.
“He’s a 4.0 student, just an outstanding young man, and he’s just going to get better. He’s still learning the game, really learning to play with his hands, and once he really learns to do that every down, he could possibly be the best player I’ve ever coached in 24 years.”
So how have opponents tried to keep Haywood at bay?
“A lot of people try to double team him, but most people try to run away from him,” King said. “They try to find out where he is and run away from him, so that’s why we move him around quite a bit. We try not to leave him in one spot.
“Sometimes he might be down inside at a two technique, the next play, he might be outside at defensive end. We just try to move him around and try to put him at team strengths. The scary thing about him is if you run away from him, he’s so fast, he’ll run you down.
“He can run athletic players down from the backside. He’s got one speed, and it’s full. He’s a kid that truly never takes a play off. He seems to never get tired. He plays every down for us on both sides. He’s an offensive tackle for us on offense.
“Last year, he had the luxury of just playing defense. This year, he has stepped up and played offensive tackle and defensive line for us. People try to double team him, but he is so quick off the ball, it’s hard. He’s got such great punch, usually he can split a double team.”
Haywood has also put his athleticism on display during track season.
“As an eighth-grader, he ran track because we wanted him to, and he goes and he wins the 200 in the district meet, wins the long jump at 17’9” as an eighth-grader,” King said. “As a ninth-grader, he finished first in the long jump at 18’4” and finishes second in the 200 weighing 230 pounds. He’s just an athlete.”
Given his dominance, Haywood has received plenty of attention from Arkansas, as well as recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.
“He called me and invited Chris up to a photo shoot in Fayetteville with kids from the Southwest,” King said. “I think there were 19 kids that got invited, and he was one of the few underclassmen that were up there.”
Haywood isn’t the lone underclassman to play a big role in the Gators’ success.
Kaleb Kegley also played on the varsity squad as a true freshman, and has become a key two-way player down the stretch.
“They look like two big bookends,” King said of the duo. “I moved them both up as freshmen. They started every game for us last year. Kaleb played offensive guard for us every game, now he’s our center. Chris played defensive end and defensive tackle all last year.
“When those kids were in the eighth grade, I knew they were going to be special. After their last game of their eighth-grade year, I told them, ‘Boys, your junior high careers are over with. You are now senior high football players.’ We got them moved into offseason their second semester of their eighth-grade year, and they started working out with the football team.”
Kegley has 30 tackles on the season, including 13 for a loss.
“In the last three or four weeks, we’ve started playing him both ways,” King said. “He’s just a big, physical kid that can move pretty good. He’s probably 265, 270 pounds and 6-3 and can move.”
Senior Davin Cross is also very disruptive up front, having racked up 73 tackles with 32 of them going for a loss this year.
“He usually plays at nose guard or as an interior lineman for us,” King said. “He was a kid that was close to leading us in tackles last year, and he was right behind Chris in tackles for losses.”
Cross also caught the eye of Jones.
“He is a guy that most teams have had to double team this year just to keep him out of the backfield,” Jones said. “They’ve got playmakers all the way across the front. We’ve got to just do what we do and have a lower pad level than they do.”
Senior Jeremy Jones, who has 60 tackles, including 22 tackles for a loss, brings plenty of versatility to the Gators’ defense by playing defensive tackle, defensive end and linebacker, and he was also singled out by Junction City’s second-year coach.
“He has done a good job, and he plays some linebacker,” Jones said. “He really is a force on the defensive side of the ball. He makes a lot of tackles.”
Although he may not get the same amount of attention some of his teammates do, senior Chase Boyd has played well on both sides of the ball for the Gators.
Boyd has just under 600 yards rushing as the team’s fullback while adding 64 tackles with 16 for a loss at linebacker.
“He’s had another outstanding year for us,” King said. “He’s a little undersized. He’s probably 185 pounds, but he plays extremely hard and he’s very smart. He always seems to be in the right spot.”
Foreman’s defense has recorded five shutouts this year, and King said the unit has exceeded expectations.
“That was a big surprise for us,” King said. “We thought we were going to be a little bit down on that side of the ball, but our defense has been outstanding, and it’s not really just one person, it’s a total team effort. Our front seven flies to the football, playing extremely fast and physical. We’re fortunate enough to have some guys up front that are real good.”
And while Foreman’s front line is certainly formidable, Jones said the back end of the Gators’ defense is outstanding.
“Foreman has a lot of playmakers on the back end,” Jones said. “They’re very athletic and sound up front with their front four, then their back end really has a lot of playmakers. A lot of their guys go both ways. (Kyren) Batey plays safety for them. They’ve got a couple of inside linebackers that do a really good job of getting downhill and playing behind their shoulder pads.”