Elliott embraces key role in Booneville’s run game
BOONEVILLE — Cody Elliott has made the most of the opportunity to start in his final season even if it was a little nerve-wracking at the beginning.
Elliott was pressed into service after Rylen Ray, a returning 1,000-yard rusher last year, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first game of the year at Pine Bluff Dollarway.
“We knew he could be a good player, but we had no idea that he would be the fullback that he has turned into,” Booneville football coach Doc Crowley said. “He’s been everything that we could ask for plus some.”
The next week, Elliott (5-7, 150) was the new fullback, a position vital to Booneville’s option ground-pounding offense.
“I was nervous as heck,” Elliott said. “I talked to Rylen, and he helped me out through the whole process of it. It’s been really hard, but it’s worked.”
Elliott stepped into the position without really missing a beat.
“It was pretty quick,” Elliott said. “He worked there his whole senior high career just as a backup. He’s waited to have this opportunity. As soon as he came in, the first game he started, he was a little nervous. We didn’t really know what to expect, but every game he’s just gotten better and better. It’s so good to see. He’s worked so hard for this moment, and it’s paying off for him.”
Last year, Elliott had 20 carries in spot duty for 196 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he had 42.5 tackles with 2.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.
“We thought he was going to be a defensive guy only for us and to be able to step in at fullback a couple of plays here and there to rest Rylen,” Crowley said. “He hasn’t been playing much on defense. We’ve been trying to keep him rested. I just can’t say enough good things about him. He’s been a warrior us.”
He bettered last year’s offensive production in just one game this season.
“After the first game, I had a couple of good plays,” Elliott said. “I knew it was going to be all good after that.”
Two weeks ago in the final game of the regular season, Elliott had 17 carries for 227 yards and touchdown runs of 73 and 13 yards in a 64-27 win over Lavaca.
“I just kept breaking tackles,” Elliott said. “It was fun.”
On Friday night, Elliott had 179 yards on 16 carries with touchdown runs of 8, 2, 22 and 64 yards.
“His size, he’s not huge, he gets lost in there sometimes but he hits the hole so quick that he’s three or four yards past you and you don’t even notice it,” Crowley said. “He’s done a phenomenal job.
It put him over the 1,000yard mark for the season with 133 carries for 1,135 yards and 17 touchdowns, not bad for a player who wasn’t even going to start at the beginning of the season, and his production has come in just 10 actual games played so he’s averaging 113.5 yards per game.
“Sometimes he may only carry it 10 times in a game, but everything goes through him,” Crowley said. “With the option stuff, he’s got his hands on the ball probably 70 percent of the snaps with the option for him to carry it. If that fullback’s not going and not giving us what we need, we’re in trouble.”
That’s made him part of a trio of 1,000-yard backs in Booneville’s backfield, joining the wingback duo of junior Dax Goff and senior Trace Hall. Goff has rushed for 1,892 yards and 26 touchdowns while Hall has 1,247 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Of course, that wouldn’t be possible without Peyton Tatum deftly handling the quarterback duties and the bull-dozing offensive line of Cameron Osborne, Brett Welling, Lance Sims, Matt O’Bar, and Johnny Barnes, tackle to tackle, along with tight end Dunn Daniel.
“We’re very blessed,” Crowley said. “We’ve got a lot of snaps and a lot of experience with those guys up front. They’ve done a phenomenal job. They’re excited as well to see the success that Cody has had.”