ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240008
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
TYPE: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
Craig Hodge, Pulaski County High School's fullback, is not the sort of football player who seeks out the team statistician after games.
The 5-foot-10, 186-pound junior won't track down a coach who might know of the numerical details of Hodge's most recent gridiron heroics.
When asked to discuss the yards he's gained, the touchdowns he's scored, or the unfortunate defenders he has trampled like a frayed hallway carpet, he speaks first of his colleagues on the offensive line.
``The line does most of it,'' he said. ``Without them I'm nothing.''
What can you say about a young man with that sort of attitude?
``He's very humble,'' said Dave Bell, who coaches Pulaski County's defensive backs, of which Hodge is one.
Hodge seems to take no interest whatsoever in the trappings of personal glory.
Perhaps he should. To wit:
Hodge is as busy as a one-armed wallpaper hanger.
Despite playing for a Group AAA team that regularly sports one of the most populous rosters in Timesland, he starts on offense and defense, as well as putting in hazardous duty on special teams.
He is a football scholar and quick study.
Hodge has had to be. This year he's learned two new positions, fullback and cornerback. A season ago, he didn't play much defense at all. On offense, the Cougars played him at Z-back in a reserve role. The duties of a Z-back and fullback are similar only in the sense that they both line up in the backfield. A Z-back (a wingback in other offensive systems) in Pulaski County's wing-T offense essentially is a pulling guard who lines up out of position and wears a low jersey number.
Hodge had the play book for the fullback down pat by the start of the season.
``He's a smart kid,'' Bell said.
He's heavily muscled, but runs with the looseness of a long-legged sprinter.
``He can break a run for a touchdown,'' said Joel Hicks, the Cougars' coach. ``We're not talking about little 4- or 5-yard touchdown runs. We're talking about long touchdown runs.''
Just about every game Hodge shakes free for a showpiece sprint to the end zone. He had an 87-yard scoring kickoff return and a 92-yard touchdown run from scrimmage in a loss to Salem on Sept.13. During the Cougars' most recent triumph, a 39-14 dismantling of William Fleming, Hodge tore off on scoring runs of 51 and 31 yards, which helped jack up his yardage total for the game to 110 yards.
It also served to jack up his touchdown total. In eight games, Hodge has 22 touchdowns and 132 points, both of which are Timesland-leading totals by a substantial margin.
In the past three games, Hodge has scored 13 touchdowns including five in the Fleming victory.
Add to that that a 7.3 yards-per-carry average accumulated on the way to gaining 914 yards and you have the dominant running back in the Roanoke Valley District.
Even after all that, Hodge is not prepared to pledge his undying allegiance to the sport of football. Perhaps that is because he plays a pretty nice game of basketball, too.
``I like both the sports,'' he said.
Clearly, football is Hodge's game, though. Thankfully, none of it seems to have gone to what appears to be an exceedingly level head.
The coaches and statisticians can vouch for that.
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Alan Kim. In just about every game Pulaski County'sby CNBCraig Hodge shakes free for a showpiece sprint to the end zone.
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