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Sports Editor
The Weevils made history Saturday Night at West Georgia. Not just rewriting the record book, although two fell, and not just from one player, but two dominated a game in which the Boll Weevils won for the third time this season. Oct. 23, the Gulf South Conference named two Weevils both Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week. Senior running back John L. Williams played what he called the greatest game of his life Saturday. He rushed 31 times for a school-record 275 yards with three touchdowns and an amazing 8.9 yards per carry. “I kinda had a different mindset,” Williams said. “My step dad was on the side line and he told me to just to put my head down. When he told me that, it took me to another level.” Coach Gwaine Mathews said he has only seen Williams in that type of zone twice in his career, both games leading to Player of the Week honors for Williams. Although Williams put up quarterback-type numbers on the ground, his numbers would have been better if he was not sidelined the fourth quarter with a knee injury. “He would have maybe one of the all-time nights in DII history if he doesn’t get hurt,” Mathews said. “He wasn’t tired. He wanted the ball more “We wouldn’t have been in that game if it was not for John L.” Williams will miss the second game because of injuries this season Thursday night against West Alabama.. He has yet to see a doctor, but is using crutches as a precautionary measure. Williams said if he could, he would wrap up his knee and play with a brace, but Mathews already told him he couldn’t. Williams broke his hand the first game of the season against Southern Arkansas and missed the Sam Houston State game because of it. Instead of missing two games in a row, Williams took it upon himself to do something about the injury. “When I broke my hand, the next game I thought I was going to play, but then coach told me ‘no we are going to let you sit out,’” Williams said. “That next Monday I came back into the training room and cut off the cast myself. I was like ‘I’m playing next game.’”
Not to be outdone by Williams’ phenomenal effort Saturday, junior safety Solomon “Supe” Edwards dominated the defensive side to garner the first GSC Defensive Player of the Week in Mathews’ tenure. When most safeties lead a team in tackles, the results usually comes from poor tackling in from of him. In Edwards’ case, he took down the runner before anyone else had a chance. “The plan was we wanted to get him closer to the action,” Mathews said. “We let Scooter (White) and some of the others cover up and we got Supe closer to the action and he made plays.” And plays he made. He led the team with 10 tackles; 4.5 came from behind the line of scrimmage for minus 30 yards. He also picked up two sacks for minus 14 yards and two quarterback hurries. Although Edwards was instrumental in holding West Georgia to 35 rushing yards, he made an impact in the passing game when he went back in coverage. He picked up one pass disruption. “Stat wise, that’s a pretty amazing game,” Mathews said. “The only thing he didn’t have was an interception. It’s like the cycle in baseball. He had tackles. He had tackles for loss. He had sacks. He had hurries. He had pass break ups. Five out of the six things he had.”
Although two Weevils played
what could be considered the best individual games in school history,
picking up the win mattered most to at least one of them. “It won’t even feel right if we won’t win this game,” Williams said. “That’s the main thing, just winning the game.” Have a comment? Please e-mail us. ŠThe Voice 2007 Revised 09/17/2007 09:07:11 PM — http://www.uamont.edu/Organizations/TheVoice/5_7/potw.htm |
