Prep running back Bacon sizzles for Bryan County

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Posted 4:16PM on Wednesday, September 18, 2002

PEMBROKE, Ga. - At only 5-8, Louis Bacon can clear 6-8 in the high jump and easily dunk a basketball with a vertical leap of 38 inches. Even more impressive are the numbers he's put up on the football field, where the Bryan County running back has rushed for more than 1,300 yards in each of the past two seasons. "I think that's what a lot of people don't realize - how explosive he is," Bryan County coach Ron Lewis said. That explosiveness has allowed Bacon to rush for 435 yards on just 31 carries and score five touchdowns in two games this season. The 175-pound senior rushed for 275 yards on 13 carries and scored four touchdowns in the Redskins' season-opener against Long County, and 160 yards on 18 carries and one touchdown last week against Portal. "I'm trying to get 2,000 yards so I can go to college, and everybody else is trying to work along with me," Bacon said. As a freshman, Bacon rushed for 700 yards as a backup behind James Slater. His sophomore and junior seasons, he rushed for 1,376 and 1,324 yards, respectively, with Bryan County operating out of the wishbone. This season the Redskins have switched to the I-formation to feature Bacon even more. Lewis said he knew Bacon was special when he saw him as a freshman, "but I didn't feel like Louis was ready to take the every Friday-night beating he would take. "But when he was a sophomore we went to the wishbone, which was better suited to him at the time because he was just 150 pounds. The extra blocker in the backfield kind of freed him up a little bit. This year we're building the offense around him." Bacon, who added 20 pounds over the summer in preparation for this season, said he likes running out of the I-formation better than the wishbone because he can go either left or right. "In the wishbone, I could only run right because I was the left halfback," he said. "I can use my vision better (in the I (formation)-. I can see where the holes are and where the defense is." To his credit, much of what Bacon has accomplished has been done behind a young and undersized offensive line. He also plays linebacker, punts, kicks off and returns punts. "He does everything for us," Lewis said. "He doesn't come off the field."