Refreshed running backs excelling in playoffs

Junction City’s Jakiron Cook and Gurdon’s Jameson Threadgill are two of the most explosive players in the 2A ranks.

But if there is one stat that you won’t see either near the top of, it’s the amount of carries they have had this fall.

That is by design.

Heading into their showdown on Friday night in the 2A state semifinals, Threadgill has racked up 173 carries in 13 games, which averages out to just over 13 carries per game.

Cook has a slightly higher average at just over 13 1/2 carries per game with 150 rushes in 11 games for the Dragons.

Cook was a sophomore two years ago when the Dragons reached the 3A state finals with Hishmma Taylor and Shuvasceiaye Frazier combining for 512 carries with Taylor carrying the ball 337 times for 2,523 yards.

A year ago, Junction City won the 2A state title with Dhante Gibson leading the Dragons in carries with 222 for 1,742 yards, although Cook helped shoulder the load with 160 carries for 1,214 yards.

In addition to Cook’s carries this fall, sophomores Jamal Johnson (62 carries) and A.J. Ivory (52 carries) have provided depth to keep Cook fresh for the postseason.

“So far, it’s going to plan,” said Junction City coach Brad Smith. “We wanted to keep off of him. Just as a staff, a couple of years ago, we wore Hishmma Taylor down.

“We gave him the ball too many times. We just decided we were going to spread totes around. We were going to throw it a little more.”

The same principle holds true for the Go-Devils, who have had 19 players get at least one carry this season with seven getting 10 or more carries on the season.

“Carrying the ball, we try to rotate it as much as we can,” said Gurdon coach Kyle Jackson. “We feel like we’ve got two or three back there that are capable with what we’re trying to do in the system, but even then, it’s going to revolve around Threadgill and seeing who we can get him matched up on because he is our best player. We’ve got two or three other guys that we feel confident in.”

Gurdon got an early-season scare when Threadgill was limited due to an injury, and Jackson made it a point to keep his carries in check.

During a four-week stretch, Threadgill had a total of 18 carries in lopsided wins over Lafayette County, Mount Ida and Rector.

“We’ve tried to hold him back a little bit as the year progressed,” Jackson said.

“He was dinged up. I think he got hurt in the second quarter of Week 2 and didn’t hardly play in Week 3 or Week 4. We tried to limit his carries throughout the year as much as we could hoping to be at this point.

“Once we got to this point, we told him, ‘We’re going to have to saddle you up and go.’ He’s our best player, and we’re going to have to get it in his hands as much as we can.”

Jackson has been true to his word.

Last week against Magnet Cove, Threadgill had a season-high 31 carries for 186 yards and two touchdowns in Gurdon’s 34-17 win.

Overall, Threadgill has posted eight games with 100-plus yards, totaling 1,629 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging 9.4 yards per carry.

“He’s a home-run threat,” Smith said of Threadgill. “When you have a home-run hitter, you have to pitch to him carefully. He’s got elite speed. We’ve seen some speed guys, but they weren’t as fast as him. We haven’t seen anybody like him. We have to keep our eyes on him.”

For Jackson, it’s not just speed that makes Threadgill such a dangerous threat, it’s his agility.

“I know he’s fast, but for me, it’s more just the shiftiness, quick and agile and side to side,” Jackson said.

“One of the better things we did switching to the wishbone is he can get through the hole in a hurry. He’s a smaller back. He’s not nearly the size of Jakiron from Junction. I think sometimes he gets behind there and people just can’t see him behind the offensive line.

“One thing that people don’t understand if you’re not around him much is he is a student of the game. He loves the game. There’s probably not a time that he’s not talking or watching or thinking about football, which usually those type of kids turn out to be pretty good football players. He’s blessed with a lot of ability, but he’s just a kid that loves it.”

Cook has also been quite busy in the playoffs.

In the Dragons’ wins over Hector and Des Arc, the senior has 39 carries for 427 yards and six touchdowns, giving him 1,382 yards and 23 touchdowns while averaging 9.2 yards per carry this season.

Prior to the playoffs, Cook had reached double figures in carries only once dating back to September when he had 19 carries for 66 yards against Fordyce.

Now he is ready for the Dragons’ biggest game of the season to date.

“When it comes time to get on his back and ride, we don’t want him beat up or banged up,” Smith said.

“So far, it’s worked like a charm. I told him, ‘I know you haven’t been pleased with the amount of carries you’ve gotten, but we want you when it’s money time.’ That’s just the way we wanted to do it. We didn’t want him sitting here with 220, 230 carries.”