CBA's Hemmingway makes most of first varsity start

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on August 25, 2015 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Steve Brooks can't hide the cat in the bag any more.

He's loose now.

Sophomore Mike Hemmingway, in his first-ever varsity start, rambled for a career-high 142 yards during Charles B. Aycock's season-opening, 34-27 victory over Rosewood last Friday.

"I had to keep some things quiet," said Brooks, who never mentioned Hemmingway as a possible backfield varsity starter during the preseason.

In fact, Hemmingway anticipated getting more reps on the JV team this fall -- until an issue arose on varsity. Brooks needed a third back to relieve two-way starters Caleb Gough and Tim Farmer, who are both stalwarts on the defensive side of the ball.

Brooks wanted some depth.

Hemmingway joined the varsity team during weight-room workouts and immediately became popular with the older players. He steadily improved his work ethic, but still had doubts he could play on a higher level on Friday nights.

He proved it against the Eagles.

The compact running back's first two carries resulted in 6 and 11 yards, respectively. The second tote gave Aycock a first down on a third-and-long play. He broke loose for another 12-yard gain, but the drive stalled.

"Mike, yeah, he came through big time ... a tough runner," CBA quarterback Jake Flowers said. "He had a great winter in the weight room. It's great to have him around the older guys. We all love him. He ran the ball great tonight.

"I'm sure he'll get praise at school this week."

Hemmingway emerged as Aycock's main workhorse in the second half and carried the ball on 15 of the Golden Falcons' 40 offensive plays. His 3-yard scramble up the middle helped keep a CBA possession alive, which eventually led to Flowers' 3-yard touchdown pass to Damien Darden.

The Golden Falcons led 27-19, only to see Rosewood knot the game at 27-27 with 3:41 left in regulation.

Hemmingway then came up with his biggest play of the night. The 195-pounder found an open seam and broke free down the left sideline for a 44-yard gain.

It was his last carry of the night.

"(Mike) is just a fresh leg-body kid who can go and do a lot of good things," said Brooks, whose team finished 10 of 17 on third-down conversions.

"I'm proud of his first varsity effort. I don't know if he really believed when we started working him in the weight room with the varsity that he could play varsity.

"I think he's proven the last two weeks he belongs."

Tyrique Ford and Caleb Gough combined for nine yards on three rushes. Flowers and Darden did the rest. Working with no timeouts, Flowers capped the 2 1/2-minute drive on a fourth-down, 7-yard touchdown pass to Darden.