Pirates deep in backfield

By Dave Morrison
Sports Editor

November 21, 2008 11:44 pm

— FAYETTEVILLE — Ask any Fayetteville opponent about Drew Weis and they’re going to know all about the running back, a first-team all-stater last year as a sophomore.
They’ll know he’s well on his way to a repeat performance, with 1,357 yards and 25 touchdowns.
They’ll know if you slow Weis, or at least keep him out of the end zone, your chances of beating the Pirates just increased.
But what about Brian Trofy? Or Caleb O’Neal? Or Donald McDowell? For that matter, what about Troy Hopkins?
While they don’t have Weis’ numbers, they are part of a deep corps of running backs that has Fayetteville primed and one game away from its first Class A semifinal appearance in six years. The Pirates host St. Marys at 1:30 p.m. today at Fletcher Arritt Memorial Field in the second round of the playoffs.
Trofy, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound senior, does a lot of the hard running at fullback, but he has also seen time at tailback, and with good reason.
“Any time he sticks his nose up inside, he’s a breakaway threat,” Fayetteville third-year coach Dave Moneypenny said.
His 51-yard touchdown run against Tucker County in a 35-33 opening-round win last week was a perfect example.
“When I went through the hole, I only had one guy to beat,” Trofy said of his season-long scoring run. “I worked really hard on my speed, to bring it up.”
“So I have a lot of confidence that if I get (to the second level), I can score.”
For the season, Trofy has 64 carries for 443 yards and six touchdowns.
“He’s a had a real solid year for us,” Moneypenny said. “Hustle is the first thing I think of with him. He’s 100 miles an hour all the time no matter if it’s in practice or in games. He qualified for the state track meet in the 300 intermediate hurdles, which tells you the kind of athlete he is. He brings a lot of speed to the fullback position, maybe speed you wouldn’t normally get from a fullback. It’s why he is interchangeable.”
“With everybody focusing on Drew, I’m kind of the unknown back,” Trofy said. “Drew kind of overshadows me. But I feel like when I get the ball I can do almost as much damage as Drew does.”
While Trofy brings speed to the equation, the other back-up backs have their strengths as well.
O’Neal, a 5-8, 144-pound junior, brings first-cut ability which has enabled him to rush for 203 yards and about six yards per carry. He has two touchdowns.
“He can cut on a dime,” Moneypenny said. “When it comes to that first cut, he probably runs that bucksweep as well as anyone we have. He doesn’t have the flat-out speed, but he can find a seam and he gets vertical quick.”
“I think we have guys we can put in there and we don’t lose a whole lot,” O’Neal said. “Drew is a good back and we trust him and depend on him. We try to watch what he does and maybe pick up a few things.”
McDowell has 93 yards on just 13 carries.
“Everything we do is because we have a great line in front of us,” McDowell said. “We will watch Drew and see what he does wrong. Then we won’t make the same mistake.”
Then there is Troy Hopkins, normally a receiver.
He has 437 yards rushing and four TDs on the ground.
“Troy kind of slips the mind sometimes because he is a receiver,” Moneypenny said. “He’s our counter guy. Usually with him, it’s all or nothing. Miss a block at the line of scrimmage and it’s a tackle at the line of scrimmage. If the blocking is good, it could be anywhere between eight and 80 yards.”
St. Mary’s comes in with a top-shelf backfield itself with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and, like Fayetteville, a 1,000-yard passer at quarterback.
“We have a lot of confidence in these other guys,” Moneypenny said. “Drew has gotten a majority of the carries. I don’t see that changing. But we feel confident with these other guys, too.”
The winner of today’s game plays the Pocahontas-Madonna winner next weekend.
— E-mail:
demorrison@register-herald.com

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