Running back spurs Colts with 435 yards, 5 TDs

Rivercrest running back Cecil Langston looked stronger in the second half last Friday on his way to breaking a 23-year-old school record.

Langston, 5-7, 181 pounds, rushed for 435 yards and 5 touchdowns — including 3 in the second half — on 36 carries in a 49-14 victory over Melbourne to earn recognition as this week’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Feat of the Week.

The senior had touchdown

runs of 60, 56 and 14 yards in the final two quarters as he surpassed Tyrone Henry’s mark of 418 yards set in the 1992. He also had scoring runs of 64 and 32 yards in the second quarter for Rivercrest (6- 3, 5-1), which is in a first-place tie in the 3-3A Conference with Hoxie.

Langston’s first touchdown, from 64 yards with 8:03 remaining in the second quarter, gave the Colts a 7-0 lead. With 7:21 left in the first half, Langston scored on a 32yard run before a two-point conversion made it 15-0.

His 60-yard touchdown run with 11:13 left in the third quarter extended the Colts’ lead to 22-0. He added a 56yard run and a 14-yard run in the fourth quarter to finish off the best rushing performance in the school’s history.

“He seems to get better as the game goes on,” Rivercrest Coach Kelly Chandler said. “He got his rhythm going.”

Friday’s game was the third in which Langston has rushed for at least 300 yards. He had 340 yards and three touchdowns Oct. 2 against Piggott and was coming off a 305-yard, two-touchdown effort against Cedar Ridge on Oct. 23.

Langston’s consistency has impressed Chandler the most. He’s rushed for 1,872 yards and 21 touchdowns on 183 carries.

Langston, who played varsity football as a freshman, has rushed for 4,916 yards and 50 touchdowns for his career and is receiving recruiting interest from Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Arkansas-Monticello.

“He worked hard in the offseason,” Chandler said. “He stays with it. He doesn’t take a day off.”

Rivercrest hosts Osceola on Friday night. If the Colts win, they will be the No. 1 seed from the 3-3A Conference in the state playoffs.

Chandler said there is no secret to Rivercrest’s offensive game plan Friday night.

“Everybody knows Cecil is going to get the ball,” Chandler said. “We’ve been able to continue to pound the ball even though people have tried to stop us.

“He’s a competitor. He doesn’t want to lose.”