Gobbler Fan
12-30-2007, 10:54 AM
BY MIKE FORMAN - ADVOCATE SPORTS WRITER
December 30, 2007
CUERO – Cuero coach Mark Reeve wasn’t completely sold on Quincey Whittington becoming the Gobblers’ tailback coming into the season. Whittington had been hurt much of last season and was used primarily as a receiver and kick returner.
“We were still thinking of going with David Williams and Stefon Hargrove at tailback and not going with Quincey,” Reeve said. “But the more we looked the more we realized Quincey has such a great natural ability to find a hole and has such great acceleration we just couldn’t keep him out of the backfield.”
Whittington more than justified Reeve’s decision. He carried 205 times for 1,903 yards and 26 touchdowns and caught 45 passes for 748 yards and five touchdowns. Whittington completed all three of his passing attempts for 66 yards and two touchdowns, returned 15 punts for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran back 17 kickoffs for 305 yards.
Whittington also played in the secondary and had 50 tackles, including 31 solo stops, recovered three fumbles, broke up 13 passes and had two interceptions.
But what most impressed Reeve about Whittington was his willingness to become a team leader with his work habits and performance that helped pave the way for Cuero’s drive to the Class 3A, Division II state semifinals.
“Quincey plays so hard and is in such great physical condition that he might come out for two or three plays a game,” Reeve said. “He has a great hunger to win. Those are the things that drive great players.”
Whittington was motivated to win a state championship like his father, Quincy, and uncle, Arthur, had done at Cuero. The Gobblers came up two wins short of the state title but Whittington was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Victoria Advocate’s 2007 All-Area Football Team.
“I tried to work hard, listen to the coaches and do everything right,” Whittington said. “I knew being a senior it was up to us to lead the team. We had to take over where the other seniors left off and we tried to take the team as far as we could go.”
The 5-foot-8, 168-pound Whittington worked hard to make sure he was physically ready to perform at a high level in every game.
“He lived in the weight room,”Reeve said. “A lot of it came from being injured last year and he wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again. He wanted to be in a position where he could deal punishment out. He wanted to be the punisher instead of the punishee. What people don’t know is Quincey went to the Nike Camp (in Houston) last summer and was the No. 2 rated athlete.”
Whittington’s work in the offseason led to his improvement this season and will likely allow him to continue his career on the college level most likely as a receiver and returner.
“This year I knew I was going to be the running back so I had to be able to do running back things,”Whittington said. “I worked hard on improving my cuts, keeping my feet and waiting for the holes.”
Whittington’s cuts and his explosiveness once he found a hole often left observers shaking their heads.
“He’s a special kind of kid,”Palacios coach Mike Treybig said after Whittington rushed for 256 yards in Cuero’s 51-20 District 29-3A win over the Sharks.
“Barry Sanders-esque,” another witness said after watching Whittington shift directions four times on a run in the Gobblers’ 37-14 semifinal loss to China Spring.
Whittington had 3,311 all-purpose yards and scored 35 touchdowns, while averaging 11.54 yards per touch and 9.3 yards per rush this season. But Whittington’s most impressive statistic was scoring a touchdown every 8.2 times he touched the ball.
“I always said in my senior year I wanted to lead the team to state,” said Whittington, who counts Cuero’s 64-7 bi-district win over Mathis where he touched the ball nine times and scored six touchdowns as his most memorable game. “I have to give credit to my line and even though we didn’t make it to state, I’m proud of what we did.”
December 30, 2007
CUERO – Cuero coach Mark Reeve wasn’t completely sold on Quincey Whittington becoming the Gobblers’ tailback coming into the season. Whittington had been hurt much of last season and was used primarily as a receiver and kick returner.
“We were still thinking of going with David Williams and Stefon Hargrove at tailback and not going with Quincey,” Reeve said. “But the more we looked the more we realized Quincey has such a great natural ability to find a hole and has such great acceleration we just couldn’t keep him out of the backfield.”
Whittington more than justified Reeve’s decision. He carried 205 times for 1,903 yards and 26 touchdowns and caught 45 passes for 748 yards and five touchdowns. Whittington completed all three of his passing attempts for 66 yards and two touchdowns, returned 15 punts for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran back 17 kickoffs for 305 yards.
Whittington also played in the secondary and had 50 tackles, including 31 solo stops, recovered three fumbles, broke up 13 passes and had two interceptions.
But what most impressed Reeve about Whittington was his willingness to become a team leader with his work habits and performance that helped pave the way for Cuero’s drive to the Class 3A, Division II state semifinals.
“Quincey plays so hard and is in such great physical condition that he might come out for two or three plays a game,” Reeve said. “He has a great hunger to win. Those are the things that drive great players.”
Whittington was motivated to win a state championship like his father, Quincy, and uncle, Arthur, had done at Cuero. The Gobblers came up two wins short of the state title but Whittington was selected as the Most Valuable Player of the Victoria Advocate’s 2007 All-Area Football Team.
“I tried to work hard, listen to the coaches and do everything right,” Whittington said. “I knew being a senior it was up to us to lead the team. We had to take over where the other seniors left off and we tried to take the team as far as we could go.”
The 5-foot-8, 168-pound Whittington worked hard to make sure he was physically ready to perform at a high level in every game.
“He lived in the weight room,”Reeve said. “A lot of it came from being injured last year and he wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again. He wanted to be in a position where he could deal punishment out. He wanted to be the punisher instead of the punishee. What people don’t know is Quincey went to the Nike Camp (in Houston) last summer and was the No. 2 rated athlete.”
Whittington’s work in the offseason led to his improvement this season and will likely allow him to continue his career on the college level most likely as a receiver and returner.
“This year I knew I was going to be the running back so I had to be able to do running back things,”Whittington said. “I worked hard on improving my cuts, keeping my feet and waiting for the holes.”
Whittington’s cuts and his explosiveness once he found a hole often left observers shaking their heads.
“He’s a special kind of kid,”Palacios coach Mike Treybig said after Whittington rushed for 256 yards in Cuero’s 51-20 District 29-3A win over the Sharks.
“Barry Sanders-esque,” another witness said after watching Whittington shift directions four times on a run in the Gobblers’ 37-14 semifinal loss to China Spring.
Whittington had 3,311 all-purpose yards and scored 35 touchdowns, while averaging 11.54 yards per touch and 9.3 yards per rush this season. But Whittington’s most impressive statistic was scoring a touchdown every 8.2 times he touched the ball.
“I always said in my senior year I wanted to lead the team to state,” said Whittington, who counts Cuero’s 64-7 bi-district win over Mathis where he touched the ball nine times and scored six touchdowns as his most memorable game. “I have to give credit to my line and even though we didn’t make it to state, I’m proud of what we did.”