Athlete Spotlight
Reggie Rice knows that a running back is only as good as his offensive line.
Greenbrier's Reggie Rice (center) scored three touchdowns against Lakeside and gives much of the credit to his offensive line: Cal Morris (from left) Ricky Clark, Brad Coody, Josh Lewer, Rick Stahman and Jay Adkins. Rice also made two key defensive plays against the Panthers, including a quarterback sack and a goal-line stop.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
According to Rice's stats, there's no questioning how good that offensive line is.
In Greenbrier's first five games, the senior tailback has rushed for 620 yards on 84 carries, including nine rushing touchdowns. Rice's top performance came this past weekend with a 214-yard, three-touchdown highlight reel in the Wolfpack's 25-0 shutout of region rival Lakeside.
"He's got a lot of talent," Greenbrier head coach Mickey Derrick said, "but more than the talent is his heart."
Rice's heart is with his offensive line. The senior captain credits the wall in front of him for the team's offensive success.
"They've been outstanding," Rice said. "To have them go out there and work as hard as they do, it's exciting."
Seniors Cal Morris, Ricky Clark and Jay Adkins, and juniors Brad Coody, Josh Lewer and Ricky Stahman make up a starting offensive line that has allowed Greenbrier tailbacks to average 269 yards rushing per game in the team's past four contests.
Sophomore Ryan Lariscy was also a part of the offensive unit before his season ended late in the second quarter last weekend against Lakeside with a torn MCL.
"It's been a privilege blocking for Reggie," Lariscy said. "He's unbelievable."
With Rice's name near the top of the area stats in rushing and scoring, he's been given most of the credit for Greenbrier's early success in Region 2-AAAA play. Although Reggie gets the spotlight, his teammates don't seem to mind.
"It doesn't bother me," Lariscy said. "Reggie doesn't act like he cares about it either. We give him a hard time about it."
With a 3-2 overall record and 2-0 region record, Greenbrier stands in a tie with Statesboro atop the Region 2-AAAA standings. On Friday, the Wolfpack will travel four hours for a region road game against Wayne County. According to Derrick, it's the longest regular-season road trip since he took over the program.
"We've never taken a road trip this far before," Rice said. "It's easy for the team to get content after two county team wins. We can't do that."