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RB Roderick Smith (Official Thread)

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Hawks? Mr. Everything

Senior blocks field-goal attempt, scores, has INT to save Harding


Rod Smith didn?t set a record Friday, but that doesn?t mean the Harding senior didn?t make a big difference.

Smith blocked a field goal with 10 seconds left in the game as the Hawks beat visiting North Side 15-14 on Friday.

?We came out here not worrying about the records,? Smith said. ?I don?t think we played our best, but we fought hard.?

Smith, who needed 280 yards to become the SAC?s all-time leading rusher, was held to 72 yards.

But he had a touchdown, an interception, kicked an extra point and ran for the game-winning two-point conversion.

?What he proved tonight was it is not about running the ball, but about being a good football player,? Harding coach Sherwood Haydock said. ?That is what makes him a prime candidate for Mr. Football.

?That stuff is so important because he is not just a prima donna running back. He is a football player who leads his team and wants to win.?

The rushing output left Smith 208 yards away from Ray Byers? conference-best 5,328 yards. Smith stands at 5,121 yards.

The Redskins (0-2) held Smith to the 72 yards after the Ohio State recruit got 279 last week against Wayne.

?I sure didn?t think that kid would beat us at free safety,? North Side coach Casey Kolkman said. ?You execute goal No. 1 against a Division I recruit, and you think 99 times out of 100 you win that game. You stop a kid like that, and he finds another way to beat you. The kids did a great job on him at running back, but he played great as a football player.?

Harding (2-0) led 15-14 when Smith and quarterback Zac Haydock misfired on an exchange and Smith fumbled near midfield. North Side got the ball to the Hawks? 10 and tried a 26-yard field goal. The 6-foot-2 Smith came up the middle and blocked the attempt by Redskins kicker Alex McKinstry.

?I can?t explain it,? Smith said. ?The coach told me to go in the middle, and the ref was telling me not to hit the center. So I just split between, and I went right in and did it.?

Smith also had 45-yard touchdown run and a 95-yard interception return for a score negated because of penalties.

?It was a big gut-check win,? said Harding receiver Diamond Lymon, who caught a touchdown pass from Zac Haydock. ?North Side is way better than we actually thought. When you have Rod Smith on your team, you have a guy who can make plays.?

Quarterback JaMarcus Smith had two touchdown runs as the Redskins looked better than in last week?s 28-6 loss to Concordia.

?Our kids decided to prove that they are going to play football,? Kolkman said. ?That?s all we ask of them, win or lose, stand up and be a man and step up and fight. They did, and we learned how to fight tonight.?
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http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090829/SPORTS0501/308299993/1092/SPORTS05
 
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JournalGazette.net: Smith getting closer

Smith getting closer
Greg Jones
The Journal Gazette

Harding senior running back Rod Smith is getting closer to the SAC all-time rushing mark.

The Ohio State recruit needed 559 yards coming into the season to eclipse former Wayne standout Ray Byers' record of 5,328 career yards.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Smith seemed sure to get it in two games after opening the season with 279 against Wayne. But he met a roadblock, not to mention a defense set up to stop the run, in Game 2 against North Side and ran for only 72 yards.

That leaves him 208 away from Byers' record with 5,121 yards.

Harding (2-0) is at Elmhurst on Friday. Smith ran for 182 yards last year in a win against the Trojans.

If Smith doesn't get the needed yardage against the Trojans, he would almost certainly break it at home as the Hawks play host to the Bishops - Luers and Dwenger - the next two games.
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Hawks back ends record wait
Greg Jones High school sports editor

Late in the third quarter, Rod Smith left the game for good with a sense of relief. Not just because he got to rest a sore hip, but also because he had the SAC record ? at last.

Smith?s 62-yard touchdown run with 5:08 remaining in the third gave him 238 yards in a 63-7 win over Elmhurst on Friday and put the Harding senior running back on top of the SAC?s all-time rushing list.

The Ohio State recruit has 5,359 career yards and surpassed former Wayne standout Ray Byers? previous mark of 5,328 yards, set two years ago.

?Finally,? Smith said of the record-breaking run down the sideline into the end zone. ?I had the record on another run, but they caught me from behind. I went in there for one more series, and I finally got it. I was relieved. There has been a lot of pressure on me this season.

?Everybody can stop bothering me about it. I am happy to get it over with. People had been worrying about me setting goals for myself, but me and my teammates are more focused on the team. We don?t think about the records.?

Smith had 141 yards at halftime and played in the third quarter, despite injuring his hip on the first offensive series.

?I wanted to stick in there with my team,? said Smith, who spoke with Byers on the sidelines after the game. ?I know we have a lot of stuff to work on. I am also happy to finally break the record. It means I am up there as good as Ray Byers. (Byers) keeps telling me positive stuff, and I was happy for him to see me as one of the great backs coming out of Fort Wayne.?

Harding coach Sherwood Haydock said Smith would have been on the sidelines at the end of third, with or without the record.

?Because of our numbers situation, we don?t pull everybody until the fourth quarter,? Haydock said. ?He was banged up a little bit, and I asked him if he wanted to go or not. I told him he was close enough, but he might not get it, and he said he would play the third quarter. If he would have gotten it or not, he would have been out of there at the end of the third quarter. We decided during the week just to let things happen.?

Smith, who has 589 rushing yards in three games this season, carried the ball 15 times against the Trojans (1-2) and scored three touchdowns.

?To see him in person, he is just a big, physical back,? Elmhurst coach Kyle Beauchamp said. ?I thought if we could have done a better job of getting him down on initial contact, we would have had a little more success tonight. It is easier said than done against a guy like that.?

Harding (3-0) trailed 7-6 before scoring 57 unanswered points. Hawks had more than 600 yards of total offense, and quarterback Zac Haydock, the coach?s son, threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns.

The Hawks? defense forced six turnovers and returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns.

. . .

SAC all-time rushers
1. Rod Smith, Harding, 5,359 (2006-09)
2. Ray Byers, Wayne, 5,328 yards (2004-07)
3. Fred Moore, Luers, 5,015 (1987-89)
4. Bryan Payton, Concordia, 4,639 (2001-03)
5. Vaughn Dunbar, Snider, 4,218 (1984-86)
Click to expand...

Hawks back ends record wait | The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Ind.

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