CALEDONIA — It’s not the shoes.
As much as the white adidas cleats with gold shoelaces complete the New Hope High School football team’s white road uniform, they don’t make Andre Erby go.
If you have watched Erby play, though, sometimes you wonder what makes him go. Erby admitted earlier this season he hears the voice of New Hope football coach Kris Pickle in his head when he opts to run east or west instead of the preferred north and south.
Some habits are hard to break, especially when you’re trying to make a play. But when there is open green space, Erby is going to gravitate toward it, almost as if he hears another voice in his head daring him to tempt fate.
Erby showed Friday night he has a knack for toeing the line between dangerous and game-breaking extremely well, scoring three ways to help New Hope beat Caledonia 49-10 in a matchup of Lowndes County rivals.
“If I see open field I am going to go in that direction,” Erby said.
That mantra drove Erby on a night when he scored on a 31-yard run, a 79-yard kick return, and a 37-yard pass from Thomas Stevens. Erby added returns of 47 and 48 yards that helped set up scores and enabled New Hope (3-1) to win its 12th-straight game in the series against Caledonia.
“I have a lot of confidence to know my speed is going to help me get out of things,” Erby said. “I know I can outrun a lot of people.”
Erby sounds confident when he says the cleats aren’t solely responsible for his speed, even though he said the shoes are “very light” and do make him go faster. He looked at ease showcasing his skills on his touchdown run, which started to the left and then changed course quickly when the original route was cut off.
Erby appeared to be equally comfortable darting in and out of traffic on the kick return that might have been the game’s biggest play. After Spencer Unruh hit Jamel Thomas with a 30-yard touchdown pass to cut New Hope’s lead to 14-10 in the second quarter, Erby answered with a return that looked to be destined for a short gain into a game-breaker. The score followed a familiar plan: Erby starts one way, as if he is dipping his toe in the water to test the temperature, and then veers off when he sees something more appealing.
“I don’t like getting into those situations,” Erby said. “I like for it to be easy.”
Erby made all of it look easy thanks to an ability to change directions with the plant of a foot. That skill wouldn’t be as dangerous if it didn’t go with a speed that suggests a sixth or seventh gear that allows Erby to make something out of nothing.
Erby’s first return was a prime example, as he fielder a Caleb Comer kickoff sideways on the goal line to avoid going into the end zone for a touchback. Erby righted himself and then followed what he learned in film study for a 47-yard return that set up New Hope’s first score, a 6-yard run by Tyran Reed.
“I was going to let it go, but I decided to catch it,” Erby said. “Coach said they were only going to have four guys to the right and try to run all of them to one side of the field, so I knew the right side of the field was going to be open.”
Erby’s big plays complemented the efforts of his teammates. Devonta White had an interception return for a touchdown. Jay Shinn also had an interception, while Kyree Fields blocked a punt. Kobe Matthews recovered a fumble. Tae-Kion Reed also had two key sacks that stopped a Caledonia drive.
Reed, a senior lineman who plays both ways for the Trojans, said he remembered the way the Confederates played against him last season. He said he felt the effects from that game for most of the rest of the 2015 season. As a result, he said he wasn’t going to get frustrated and he was going to stay focused on doing his job. Trailing 21-10, Caledonia had a second-and-3 from the New Hope 27-yard line following a 7-yard run by Unruh. But Reed powered through the line on the next play and sacked Unruh for a 13-yard loss. He dropped Unruh for a 7-yard loss on third down to stall what could have been a momentum-turning drive.
New Hope capitalized thanks to a 48-yard punt return by Erby. Like earlier in the game, Erby started out in one direction and then read the field and shifted toward the empty green. As he raced up the ride side of the field, it looked like he was part of a convoy as a wall of Trojans formed to try to protect him.
Three plays later, Erby scored on a 37-yard touchdown pass. He caught the ball in the middle of the field and then turned to his left and zipped through the defense.
“I think the one touchdown he was worn out,” Pickle said. “He could hardly run the route because he was absolutely tired. We were trying to get the ball to Jeremy (Tate) on a post. It looked like Erby was so tired that he never pulled the safety and slipped in behind the linebackers. When he caught it, he was like, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to go’ and he took off running and he ended up scoring. He’s a good little player. I am glad to see him healthy this year. That is the good thing.”
Pickle hoped that the matchup problems that Erby, TJ Stephens, Tate, and Terryonte Thomas presented would give Caledonia problems. Quarterback Thomas Stevens helped the Trojans capitalize by going 16 of 21 for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Many of New Hope’s pass plays came on quick timing routes that didn’t give Caledonia much time to generate pressure. The Trojans also blocked effectively on the outside, which allowed their screens and bubble routes to gain positive yards.
“We line up 6-2, 6-3, and 6-4 and then Erby in the slot who can run. That is a tough matchup for people,” Pickle said.
As much as New Hope has liked to throw the ball under Pickle, the third-year head coach said the Trojans need to run the ball to be effective. That adage will be put to the test next week when New Hope plays host to Clarksdale in its Class 5A, Region 1 opener. Against Caledonia, Reed (14 carries, 65 yards) and Tony Deloach (four carries, 35 yards) provided an effective balance to the passing game. New Hope didn’t gain more rushing yards because it only attempted 14 runs and 21 passes.
“Tyran showed up well tonight and played really good,” Pickle said. “I was proud of the way Tyran played. Tony ran the ball hard, so our running backs ran the ball hard. … I was proud of the way we were able to run the ball.”
Caledonia coach Any Crotwell was proud of how hard his team played, but he said the Confederates committed too many mistakes in all three phases of the game. He knew going in New Hope’s variety on offense would present problems. Those fears were realized Friday night.
“They can just keep rolling receivers in,” Crotwell said. “I will say in again, the biggest difference to me is how multiple they can be both in formations and in run-pass ratio. They have two really good backs. Each one of them would start for a whole lot of folks. Their blocking has improved.
“They put you in a real bind in that you can thin the box to play the box, or you can load the box and try and stop the run. Either way you’re put in a stressful situation. It puts a lot of stress on your second level to align right, to read right, to fit right. One mistake or one mistake tackle and they have guys who can run and make you pay.”
The effort was more along the lines of what Pickle hoped he would see this season after a three-win season in 2015. He said earlier this week that New Hope didn’t handle adversity well in a loss to Columbus. Tae-Kion Reed said the Trojans used the bye week and the week of preparation for Caledonia to get back on the same page. He said the Trojans showed they have put the griping behind them.
“Our leadership is getting stronger and better,” Reed said. “We are starting to come together as one, as a family. Once you play as a family, nothing can stop you, nothing can come between you.
“After the Columbus game, we were really hard on ourselves. We did a lot of hitting (in the bye week) to get mentally ready and prepared for what we are trying to accomplish this season. … We had to get back together and come together as one. All this week and during pre-game, all we preached about was loving one another. If you can love another, you can do anything.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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