Elijah Beason is a senior running back for Claiborne. The secret to being a good running back?
"Try to score every time," Beason mused, "if you don't, keep running your feet, fall forward."
His life revolves around sports.
"If I didn't have sports, I don't know what I'd be doing."
Football isn't even his favorite, or best, sport. That would be baseball. His motivation to play for the Bulldogs has been by his side since he was young, his friend and quarterback, Ty Stone.
"That's my best friend," said Beason. "I've been friends with him since kindergarten, and I'm dedicating my season to him."
"It's tough, and I've been trying to stay positive, but I know God has a plan for me."
Early this season, Stone broke his tibia, separating it from his fibula, and tearing several ligaments. He'll be on the mend for most of the season, but hopes to return for the last couple of games of the regular season.
"He loves this sport," said Beason, "as soon as it happened, he was crying coming off the field and I felt so bad, I even started tearing up a little bit."
Of course, Stone appreciates the kind words of his teammates, but what he really cares about is their actions on the field.
"Your words don't mean anything," said Stone, "but your actions do and just seeing him play like that the other night, that's worthwhile. He really showed me he cared."
Nearly 250 yards from scrimmage and 5 touchdowns, there was a whole lot of action for Beason against Middlesboro last Friday.
As the head coach, Nathan Medlin can't help but notice the camaraderie between his kids.
"All those boys have grown up playing together," said Medlin, "and that's one thing that is really special about this team, they truly love each other."
Claiborne plays West Greene Friday at 7:30 p.m. The team will be playing for its first region win since 2014.
Previous Offensive Player of the Week winners: