Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Williams: Athlete Of The Year
RUNNER BLENDED POWER, SPEED
FARMINGTON — Caleb Williams became a major factor as Farmington improved from 2,548 yards of total offense from scrimmage in 2016 by nearly 1,000 yards for 2017
In recognition of his contributions Williams is awarded Male Athlete of the Year for school year 2017-2018 at Farmington by the Enterprise-Leader as a two-sport athlete, who also ran track in the spring of his senior year.
Williams’ effectiveness running the ball at tailback became the focal point of the Cardinal offense. With Williams carrying the workload on the ground rushing 217 times for 1,234 yards and 15 touchdowns the Cardinals racked up 3,530 yards of total offense and increased their scoring by 9.8-points-per-game.
Williams was an All-State selection averaging 5.7-yards-per-carry with 8 pass receptions for 174 yards averaging 21.8-yards-per-catch.
“Caleb had a really big year for us,” said Farmington coach Mike Adams. “He became a much, more aggressive runner and broke a lot of tackles. He was real solid all year. Running track (in the spring) definitely helped him, there’s no doubt.”
During his senior track and field season, Williams teamed up with Danny Valenzuela, Tony Mayo, and Derrick Ebers scoring points for the Cardinals in the 4x100 boys relay team. Running together for the very first time the Cardinals placed fourth among a field laden with 7A and 6A schools during Springdale Har-Ber’s Invitational on March 8. Their time of 44.652 was only topped by 7A schools Bentonville West, Har-Ber, and Bentonville; while placing in front of 7A Fayetteville (fifth); Rogers (seventh); and Rogers Heritage (eighth), plus 6A Siloam Springs (sixth).
The quartet came close to setting a new school record that day. They finished .3 seconds off the school record.
“It was cold outside, not supposed to be a good day for running at all,” Williams said, recalling the pleasant surprise when the relay team exceeded expectations. “We overcame all that opposition and surprised pretty much everybody because we had never ran yet. Nobody knew how fast we were.”
They were at it again during the Lion Invitational hosted by Gravette. Farmington again placed fourth with a time of 44.78 behind 7A Bentonville, 43.08; Bentonville West, 43.64; and 4A Pea Ridge, 44.64; while beating No. 5. Rogers Heritage, 44.97; No. 6 Siloam Springs, 45.09; No. 7 Van Buren, 45.18; and No. 8 Har-Ber, 46.77.
On March 29, Williams and the Cardinals took fourth one more time at the Panther Relays hosted by Siloam Springs behind 4A schools Gravette and Gentry and third place 7A Fort Smith
Northside. The Cardinals beat Siloam Springs, 7A Fort Smith Southside, 4A Shiloh Christian and Har-Ber.
In April the 4x100 Farmington relay team placed second at the Blackhawk Relays hosted by Pea Ridge with a time of 45.38. Williams had shifted from the second leg to the fourth spot in that race.
“I’ve never really been afraid of getting more responsibility,” Williams said. “I’m always looking for more things to do, if anything, to take more responsibility off other people to help them do the best that they can.”
Football season highlights featured winning a shootout, 61-41, over Clarksville and a thrilling come-from-behind, 31-30, overtime victory over Maumelle. Farmington was still alive in the playoff hunt coming into week 10, but lost a road game that determined the No. 4 seed from the 5A West.
“Unfortunately, the top four teams in our league (Greenbrier, 41-33 loss; Alma 42-18 loss; Harrison, 42-24 loss; and Morrilton, 42-14 loss), we had to play them at their place,” Adams said. “The schedule wasn’t real kind to us. Overall, I’m pleased with the progress we made. We went into the last game of the year (at Harrison) with something to play for.”
Williams’ churning legs were a big reason why they stayed in contention. Opponents couldn’t focus on defending the passing game, because Williams posed a threat capable of breaking off a long run at any given moment.
Williams points to family values established by his grandparents, Donald and Maribelle Williams, and enhanced by his parents, Paul and Melisa Williams, for setting the drive to succeed in motion.
“They always told us we are the leaders,” Williams said. “It’s better to lead from the front than to watch quietly from the back. They taught us to lead by example and show what it is to be a leader. Be refined, be the best version of you that you can be so when others look up to you they are not looking at a broken man or broken woman and staying close to one another. Even if you don’t know it, you’re always in the spotlight. Someone’s always paying attention.”
Hendrix coaches were paying attention, and when Williams signed his national letter of intent, committing to Hendrix on March 30 at Cardinal Arena, he described the event as “Just a feeling of overwhelming joy thinking back on all the hours of hard work, endless hours in the weight room, practicing with my friends. All the work finally paid off.”
“It’s better to lead from the front than to watch quietly from the
back. They taught us to lead by example and show what it is to be a leader.
Caleb Williams Farmington Athlete of the Year