Replacing Remy

Filling Blue’s void one of first challenges for Hawks

Posted 8/21/14

The past four years, the Bishop Hendricken football team has reloaded almost at will, seemingly replacing graduated All-Staters with new All-Staters and never missing a beat.

That ability to cover …

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Replacing Remy

Filling Blue’s void one of first challenges for Hawks

Posted

The past four years, the Bishop Hendricken football team has reloaded almost at will, seemingly replacing graduated All-Staters with new All-Staters and never missing a beat.

That ability to cover up its losses has led the Hawks to a state-record four consecutive Division I Super Bowl crowns. They’ve lived by a simple, but true cliché – next man up.

This season, as the Hawks shoot for a fifth straight title, they’ll have to follow the same formula, with eight All-State players gone from the 2013 title team.

One, though, will be more difficult to replace than the rest, and it will be one of the most difficult jobs in recent Hendricken football memory.

Running back Remington Blue graduated this past June and left Hendricken as one of the best players in school history. Undersized, yet constantly pushing forward, Blue was the Most Valuable Player of the past two Super Bowls, and last season was far and away the most important player on Hendricken’s high-scoring offense.

He ran for 1,227 yards in 2012 with 10 touchdowns, and followed that up with a 1,405-yard season in 2013 with an astounding 22 touchdowns. He had nearly three times as many yards as the team’s second-leading rusher, quarterback Patrick Gill, last season.

At one point, he had six consecutive 100 yard-plus rushing performances, including a 222-yard showing against East Providence. All six of those games were against Division I competition.

In the Super Bowls, Blue – a two-time All-State selection – was at his best. He ran for 160 yards and two scores in the 2012 upset victory over La Salle, and last year he found the end zone four times on his way to a 201-yard performance in a win over Cranston East.

Somehow, someway, the Hawks must find a way to replace Remington.

“I think logic would dictate that it will be a little different, but I think the tone that we’re setting now is the same tone that we’ve set for four or five years – we’re running the football, and if you can’t do it we’re going to find someone who can,” said head coach Keith Croft.

While the tone may be the same, with an emphasis on downhill, hard running, the approach will almost certainly be different, with the Hawks planning to employ a bevy of backs to make up Blue’s production.

The two most logical choices are seniors Gary Gibbs and Power Kanga. Gibbs was the team’s second-leading rusher from the running back position last year, racking up 406 yards. Two years ago, Kanga filled that role, compiling 662 yards out of the backfield as the No. 2 option behind Blue. Gibbs also contributed that season with 131 yards on the ground.

This season, Kanga and Gibbs are excited to take the torch.

“Basically, there’s a lot of pressure on us this year, because Remington was a really good running back,” Kanga said. “We have a lot going for us this year – looking for our fifth Super Bowl – so we’ve just been preparing for it, basically.”

The step-up in workload for both backs shouldn’t be a huge issue in terms of staying healthy and dealing with the toll that a running back’s body takes, as Gibbs did have 56 carries last year and Kanga had 79 in 2012. Even if those numbers move higher, they likely won’t touch the combined 284 carries Blue had the past two seasons.

And regardless of what their actual workload turns out to be, Croft is confident that they can do the job.

“I’m happy with what I see,” Croft said. “It’s a talented group. The sum of all parts is going to be strong. But obviously you’re not going to get the production out of one person that we got out of Remington last year.”

Other players will have a shot in the backfield as well. Senior Terrence Gibbs has seen some time the past two seasons, and he’ll be vying for playing time as well. Juniors Jake Derderian and Shane Olson are also candidates, and a few sophomores may make some noise, depending on how it all shakes out.

“We don’t mind (splitting carries),” Kanga said. “Whoever has the hot hand goes for it.”

Blue rarely broke down during his time as the team’s primary back, yet it’s fair to wonder whether or not the extensive workload did take a toll now and again.

With the group of backs lined up to take carries this year, fresh legs shouldn’t be a problem – something that Croft thinks could be a big advantage as the season wears on.

“It’s a big mix,” Croft said. “A lot of guys are going to be vying for carries. The good news is that we’re going to try to play that as a strength and try to keep everybody fresh.

No matter how it turns out, Hendricken will have to live with the results. While Blue currently carries the ball for McDaniel College in Westminster, Md., his former teammates will be trying to carry the torch of one of the best backs in the Hawks’ storied history.

It’s next man up.

“This is our year,” Kanga said. “This is our chance to make it happen. We’re going to make it happen.”

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