By Kevin Price
Male Athlete of the Week
Tony Cobb Senior, Running Back | Charlton County
Tony Cobb wasn’t even born when Champ Bailey was starring on the football field at Charlton County. But the current senior running back for the Indians had a game this past Friday night that only the best player in Charlton’s history has topped when it comes to carrying the ball for the hometown team. Cobb rushed for 357 yards and three touchdowns to help Charlton to a 27-7 victory at Long County. For his big performance, the 5-foot-10, 175-pounder has been named the Coastal Pines Technical College Player of the Week by 912 Sports.
“At halftime, our offensive coordinator Dusty Phillips and the offensive staff told Tony and the offensive line that they had to take the game over because of how they were covering the perimeter on us,” said Charlton head coach Russ Murray. “Tony, along with the offensive line, stepped up to the challenge.”
Cobb, who carried the ball 31 times, ran for 197 yards after halftime after going for 160 in the opening two quarters. He scored on runs of 24, 28 and 56 yards for the Indians in the game. His 357-yard rushing performance ranks second all-time in the Charlton record book for a single game. Bailey holds the record of 417 yards which he ran for as a senior against Atkinson County during the 1995 season.
The Indians are currently 2-0 on the young season. They defeated Brantley County 39-0 in Folkston to open the season on Sept. 4. Cobb scored three rushing touchdowns and also returned a kickoff for a score in that game. Charlton is ranked No. 10 this week in the Class A Public rankings by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Female Athlete of the Week:
D'Najah Boyd Senior Volleyball | Ware County
The Ware County Lady Gators are putting together a solid season on the volleyball court. The all-around play of senior D’Najah Boyd has been a key to the team’s success thus far in the 2020 season. Last week Boyd posted 14 kills, six aces, three blocks and a dig and an assist for good measure. For that individual performance, the Ware volleyball standout has been selected as the Coastal Pines Athlete of the Week by 912 Sports.
“D’Najah is a big factor on our team,” said Ware coach Alesia Gibson. “She is a player that every coach would love to have. She is a leader, but a quiet leader. Her court awareness allows her to hit the ball from any area of the court. She also supports all her teammates and is willing to stay late after practice.”
For the season, Boyd, who is called “Dee Money” by her teammates, has 90 kills, 46 aces, 10 blocks, 12 assists and five digs. The Lady Gators are currently 13-6 overall with losses in their first two Region 1-AAAAA matches. Last fall, the Lady Gators finished the season 14-10 and made the Class AAAAA state playoffs.
Athletes of the Week
Week 1 - Avien Trull (Ware County, Softball)
Week 2 - Cheyenne Ryan (South Effingham, Cross Country) | Shaquan Brooks (Richmond Hill)
Week 3 - Rebecca DeLoach (Pierce County, Softball) | Thomas Castellanos (Ware)
Week 4 - D'Najah Boyd (Ware County, Volleyball) | Tony Cobb (Charlton)