ABERDEEN — Victor Hodges isn”t going to let anything hold him back.
Part of his motivation stems from the fact that he”s a senior leader on the Aberdeen High School football team.
Like all of the Bulldogs, Hodges also remembers the feeling last season after losing to Tylertown 34-20 in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 3A state title game.
Now you can understand why annoyances like strep throat or a thigh bruise weren”t going to stop Hodges on Friday night against Mooreville.
“Regardless of the circumstances, you have to do what you have got to do,” Hodges said. “If you want to be a winning team, you have to play through injuries, sickness, anything that could set us back.”
Hodges overcame his ailments and rushed 17 times for 165 yards and three touchdowns in a 46-10 victory. He scored on runs of 19, 8, and 12 yards to help the Bulldogs build a 20-6 halftime lead.
For his accomplishments, Hodges is The Dispatch”s Prep Player of the Week.
“I felt pretty good facing the circumstances considering I was pretty sick,” Hodges said. “You can”t make excuses. You have to do what you have to do.”
Hodges said he felt ill all week and missed practice time. He said he went to the doctor late in the week and got medicine that helped him feel a little better. Against Mooreville, he showed little effect from the sickness as he helped Aberdeen win its eighth game in a row.
“The younger guys are looking up to you, so you have to set an example for them,” Hodges said. “It is a little harder, but it is just part of the job. It is everything I expected.
“Every Friday night I try to give it 150 percent. I guess I am doing my job.”
Hodges lost 10 pounds from last season and feels he is quicker at 175 pounds. He said a lifting regimen that is focused on more repetitions with lighter weights has helped him trim down.
On the field, Hodges also has a different role. A year ago, the transfer from Caledonia High split time in the backfield with Jamerson Love, who has moved on to Mississippi State. This season, Hodges is the primary option at running back, although Aberdeen High coach Chris Duncan said freshman Chico Harrison is coming on. He hopes Harris will be able to emerge late in the season to help spell Hodges and to give the Bulldogs (8-1), the defending Class 3A North Half champions, a dual-threat come playoffs.
“He knows this year he is the man and we”re going to feed him a lot,” Duncan said. “He has stepped up and filled the void we had at running back.”
Aberdeen, the No. 4 team in Class 3A in the latest Mississippi Prep Sports Source rankings, will play host to South Pontotoc at 7 Friday night. It will close the regular season Oct. 29 at Nettleton.
Matchups against Belmont (9-0, No. 6 MPSS) and against Charleston (8-1, No. 2) or Philadelphia (9-0, No. 3) could come in the North Half playoffs, but Duncan isn”t thinking that far ahead. To get there, he knows the Bulldogs will have to stay focused, and he hopes Hodges can help the team stay on track to make another run at playing for a state championship in Jackson.
“Victory is one of those kids you never have to fuss at about working,” Duncan said. “He is a hard worker, runs the ball hard, just as hard as he does in practice as he does Friday nights. He is very competitive, almost to a point sometimes where it almost hurts him. You never have to encourage him to play hard.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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