Sports Writer

There’s no room for egos in the Charles Henderson High School football teams’ backfield.

But for Jarvis Woods, Duran Boykin, Randall Maddox and Fred Jones, that isn’t a problem.

Each player has been a useful component in the Trojans running attack in 2001 and each has helped CHHS to a return trip to the Class 5-A playoffs.

Head coach Hugh Fountain said having four running backs is an added bonus at this time of year and each player brings a different style of running into the game, which a bigger challenge to Trojan opponents, who don’t have the luxury of focusing on just one running back.

"At this point it’s ideal for us. All four of those guys have different running styles. Jarvis is a slashy runner. Duran brings a lot of speed and has some shiftiness about him. Randall is a power runner and Fred’s a power runner and he’s got a lot of speed."

The quartet has combined for 1,335 yards on the season and 16 touchdowns. Woods leads the way with 541 yards on 95 carries and seven touchdowns. Jones’s 9.75 yards-per-carry is tops among the four. Boykin and Maddox have picked up 339 and 260 yards respectively while sporting over five yards-per-carry averages.

Fountain also said finding time for each back hasn’t been a problem.

"If you produce in practice, then you’ll get a chance to play. All four of those guys have produced. When you look at them statistically, they’re all very similar. They’ve had an outstanding season. We’ve got a lot of underclassmen that can run the football so it’s going to be an interesting spring."

Boykin, one of the big hitters on the defensive side of the ball, said the competition for playing time has been a positive.

"We all compete against each other, but we’re kind of feeding off each other because three of us play defense so you know, it’s no big deal.

Woods agreed, saying all four had one goal in mind.

"We all four work as hard as we can, we do what we got to do to win games."

Woods, the Trojans starting running back coming into August, left the Troy Junior Legion baseball team to focus on football during the spring. Woods said he knew he had to improve on the football field and knowing he had competition on his heels helped him develop.

"I knew I had to get better at football so I left baseball alone for a little bit and I had to get dedicated to football, so that’s what I did. When I saw them three, I knew I had to step my game up and that’s what I did."

Maddox, in his first year of varsity experience and known as "the bus" among his teammates, said the transition from junior varsity to varsity has been pretty smooth, but a big step none the less.

"It’s a lot different. You have to work harder, you have to watch film, it’s just another level. The hardest thing is, you have to know where the linebackers are at all times, just bust hole and run through the hole hard."

Jones has been known as the spark plug for the Trojan offense and says that’s the best way to describe his role.

"Yeah, that’s mostly what I do, come in, my body’s fresh, and make a big play. Find the hole, bust it up and break it out, just go with it."

The four standouts said CHHS offensive coordinator Bryant Vincent and running backs coach Wayne Tillman have had a lot to do with their success and Woods said one particular thing has stuck with him throughout the year.

"They’ve helped us a lot, we don’t dance that much in the backfield, but get north and south and they always preach that to us."

Whatever is being preached, the message has been read loud and clear by Trojan opponents.