Provine Rams use the running game against opponents
September 28, 2011
The Provine High School Rams have had a tendency to batter opponents with a strong running game this season.
In an offense that features two running backs with over 600 yards rushing each, there's no mystery where the production comes from for Provine.
The Rams bring their strong rushing attack to Starkville Friday night to take on the Yellowjackets. The kickoff for the Class 5A, Region 2, District 6 encounter is set for 7:30 p.m.
Provine coach Willie Collins said the run has been the first option for his team.
"That's basically what we try to do," Collins said. "It's the first thing we're going to try to do, but we have been working with our passing game lately so hopefully we can throw the ball sometime this year."
The Rams are led by senior Jeremy Dotson, who has 85 carries for 711 yards and five touchdowns. He has an average of 8.37 yards per carry and 142.2 yards per game.
Fellow senior Toriante Hinton averages more yards per carry than Dotson. With 686 yards on 71 carries, Hinton averages 9.66 yards per carry and 137.2 yards per game. He also has five touchdowns this season.
Dotson and Hinton have helped Provine to a 3-2 overall record and it won its first region game against Callaway 31-30.
"We've been playing fair," Collins said. "We're still young at certain positions, but we have some veterans at others. We're not being as consistent as I would like us to be so hopefully, we'll get better as the season progresses."
Collins doesn't believe that going to Starkville is a very good situation for on-the-job training.
There's no reason to look ahead for Collins and the Rams when considering the challenge the Jackets present.
"We're taking one game at a time and right now everything is centered around Starkville, which has a great football team," Collins said. "I talked with coach Mitchell (Wednesday) and he's done a great job with those players in the last couple of years. They are young in spots, but they have veteran linemen who do a great job for them."
