Wilkins doing it all for Little Johns
Sometimes, Danville quarterback Lawson Wilkins’ best plays are the ones he creates himself.
“A play’s designed to go one way, they fill it up pretty good, and Lawson just finds ways to get positive yards out of it,” Danville Coach Kody Hamlin said.
Wilkins’ play-making abilities were on full display last week in the Little Johns’ 57-41 victory over Mayflower on Friday. The quarterback amassed 491 yards of offense — 191 passing and 300 rushing — as well as 8 touchdowns.
Wilkins’ night earned him Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Player of the Week honors.
The senior’s 191 passing yards came on a 9 of 14 night, an average of 21.2 yards per completions. His 300 rushing yards came on 30 carries. Three of his touchdowns came on 20-plus-yard plays, including a 74- and 60-yard bursts.
This season, Wilkins leads the Little Johns in both rushing and passing, with 1,273 yards and 15 touchdowns on 74-of-157 passing, and another 1,160 yards and 14 touchdowns on 156 carries.
Wilkins also plays safety for Danville and has two interceptions.
“I can’t put my fingers on just one thing,” Hamlin said. “He’s great on the ground, but he also has great vision as a passer. He stands in the pocket and, sometimes, he creates his own plays out of the pocket.
“I don’t know if there is another Lawson Wilkins out there.”
While Wilkins is in his fourth and final season at Danville, this is Hamlin’s first, coming to the school for his first 11-man football head coaching job. He was previously the head coach of Western Yell County’s eightman team and, prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Hamburg.
In Hamlin’s first year at the helm, the Little Johns are 3-6, but they’ve won their past three games, with wins against Mayflower, Two Rivers and Baptist Prep.
The coach said his team’s “come alive” the past three weeks, particularly noting Wilkins’ football IQ.
“[He’s] a guy that understands the game and he’s just a great leader on and off the field,” Hamlin said. “At times, he’s helping me inspire the troops. Some of these touchdowns, he’s called himself.
“That’s something I like, especially out of a quarterback, is when he sees something on the field, he goes, ‘Coach, let’s run this.’ ”