Emory & Henry football fans were searching for a hero Saturday.
Enter a familiar underdog.
With a display of guts, skill and instincts, sophomore Caleb Jennings delivered a career-best performance.
After weaving through the Methodist defense for 214 yards rushing and two scores, numerous E&H fans sought out the humble sophomore from Cedar Bluff for praise
Many folks at Fred Selfe Stadium appeared to be amazed at how the 5-foot-7, 168-pound tailback could survive 28 carries and also lead the cheers.
As E&H players and coaches can attest, Jennings is not the average guy. Not only did Jennings handle the pounding from the Methodist defenders, he was often the first guy up from the pile after a run.
“Caleb is amazing,” E&H freshman quarterback Brent McDonald said. “He gets out of stuff that I’ve never seen before.”
Much like he did at Richlands High School, Jennings earned kudos after nearly each of his carries Saturday. When he wasn’t ducking under or bouncing off much larger tacklers, Jennings was spinning, squirting and falling forward for positive yardage.
“My role is to give 110 percent and keep everybody up,” Jennings said. “That’s what I try to do every play.”
Jennings did all that and more Saturday.
After making a difficult catch for a two-point conversion late in the third quarter, Jennings brought the docile E&H fans to their feet by sprinting down the Wasps sideline with his arms raised.
“I knew if we could convert that [two-point] play it would be a big momentum changer, so I was pretty fired up,” Jennings said.
And E&H head coach Don Montgomery loved every minute of the passionate show.
“Caleb brings that same sort of fire to practice every day,” Montgomery said. “He’s just a very dynamic player and leader.”
After earning all-state honors in high school, Jennings excelled on special teams last season at E&H.
By refusing to settle for fair catches, even under the most extreme conditions, the Jennings’ reputation as a daredevil spread quickly around the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.
Jennings supplied 29 yards on two punt returns Saturday, yet it was his relentless work at tailback that took the pressure of McDonald and set up the win.
“We rely on Caleb a lot, and he really opened things up for our play-action passes,” McDonald said.
Despite his breakthrough game, Jennings deflected the praise to his former high school teammate and fullback Cain Ringstaff.
“Cain agreed to move from tailback to fullback this season, and that was one of the most unselfish moves you’ll ever see,” Jennings said. “And Cain actually broke his hand in practice Friday, but he didn’t even care.”
Ringstaff, who consistently opened running lanes for Jennings, played with a small plastic cast on his broken hand Saturday.
“Cain is a tough guy and one of the best blocking backs around,” Jennings said. “He inspires me to death.”
This inspirational victory belonged to the E&H underdog, however.
“We know Caleb is going to bring all-out effort on every play,” E&H sophomore offensive Eric Tilson said.
“He works hard in practice, then gets after it in games. We all respect that. ”
agregory@bristolnews.com (276) 645-2544
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