The Indiana Football Coaches Association is looking at its proposal for revamping the football playoff system as a way to improve the sport, while IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox wants it to transcend to multiple sports.
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.”
