Edmond Santa Fe's Hyche is having a `special year'
EDMOND — Ethane Hyche couldn't have been more relentless.
In Friday's game against Yukon, Hyche took a hand off and quickly burst to his right on the designed counter run. As he made his way through the gap, tailing his lead blocker, three defenders approached him from multiple sides.
Instead of preparing for a hit, Hyche stuttered his feet to stun the defenders and then made a sharp move to his right, causing two Millers to collide. Finally, in the clear, Hyche outran the Yukon defense to complete the 75-yard score.
The senior running back from Edmond Santa Fe has been on a tear all year and he continued his hot start in the Wolves' 42-21 win over Yukon. Hyche rushed 20 times for 230 yards and two touchdowns.
For his performance, The Oklahoman's staff has named Hyche its Player of the Week.
“We try to be a physical football team and the way he runs downhill physically fits that mold,” Edmond Santa Fe coach Kyle White said about Hyche. “He's got good vision and good speed. He's having a special year.”
Last season, Hyche spent most of his time on the defensive side of the ball. But after a number of injuries to the offense, Hyche stepped in at running back and served as a productive player for the Wolves when needed.
This season, Hyche has taken over as the feature back full time. And he's not only cemented himself as one of the best running backs for Edmond Santa Fe, he's become one of the best backs in the state.
It' s becoming more noticeable as he's beginning to routinely break off long runs, such as his 75-yarder on Friday. Just one game before, Hyche rushed for a 63- yard touchdown in Edmond Santa Fe's 69- 14 win over Westmoore. Hyche recorded three touchdowns in that game.
“His speed has improved,” White said. “He's done a great job and he's a different player this year than he was last year.”
Through six games this season, Hyche has rushed 121 times for 938 yards and 14 touchdowns. He already surpassed where he was through all of last season and now sits near the top of the rushing leader boards throughout the state.
“He's an unbelievable competitor ,” White said. “He wants to be the guy and he's worked his tail off all season even through quarantine when we weren't working out. Like a lot of our players, he put in a lot of work on his own. He's a special talent and it's coming to light this year for him.”