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Six snapshots of Tampa Bay's impact RBs

 
Osceola’s Travis Wateska, who transferred from Seminole High School in the offseason, helped lead the Warriors to a district championship matchup this year.
Osceola’s Travis Wateska, who transferred from Seminole High School in the offseason, helped lead the Warriors to a district championship matchup this year.
Published Nov. 12, 2015

Every county in our coverage area boasts a top running back — or five — who impacts the game for his respective team. Here are snapshots of six such standout athletes.

Chris Schwarz, River Ridge

Unlike most of the other productive running backs in the area, Schwarz gets his yards the hard way. He insists on going through, not around defenders, often with multiple defenders clinging to his back.

No jukes. No spins. Just straight locomotion.

Schwarz is of the head-down, go-forward genre typified by Mike Alstott. In fact, Schwarz wears No. 40, the same number worn by Alstott during his playing days with the Tampa Bay Bucs. It's a family tradition. Schwarz's older brother, Austin, first wore it.

"The original thing behind the number was Alstott," Schwarz said. "My brother and Alstott had the same body type. That's the way my brother ran the ball, just like him, and I try to emulate that."

Here is a comparison between Schwarz in high school and Alstott in the NFL.

Career Rushing yards

Schwarz: 4,868 (3 seasons)

Alstott: 5,088 (11 seasons)

Career Rushing touchdowns

Schwarz: 51

Alstott: 58

Most rushing yards in a season

Schwarz: 2,689 (2014)

Alstott: 949 (1999)

Longest run

Schwarz: 81 yards (2015)

Alstott 47: (1997)

Adarius Lemons, Clearwater

Through nine regular-season games (he missed one due to injury), the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Clearwater junior broke 1,000 yards and will be a key player against Port Charlotte.

You model your running game after (former Plant/FSU back) James Wilder Jr. He was a very physical player. Do you like the physical part of being a running back?

"I love the contact. I love hitting for some reason. You have to be that way to be a good running back. And when I get the ball I feel like I'm running for a lot of reasons. …I'm running for my team, for my life goals, for my family. I think about those things and it makes me motivated when I touch the rock. I feel like nobody can bring me down."

Do you have the same mentality when you touch the ball, get it and run somebody over?

"I look at film a little bit and I watch how the defenses stack in the box. Sometimes against some teams I have to be quick and shoot the gap. Some teams you have to play it slow and let things happen."

You did well as a sophomore but you've really gotten a lot of attention this year. How has this season been for you?

"Being one of the top backs and all that, that wasn't something I really expected. It's still a shocker to me. I came from out of nowhere. It's crazy. But I know there are a lot of other people who have the talent. That means I have to put the extra work in. I have to do the little things to better myself."

Does gaining 1,000 yards mean much to you?

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"Oh yes. … Actually, 2,000 yards was my goal, but that didn't work out. But I truly believe in my senior year I can get that."

Mychael Hamilton, Mitchell

Running back seemed like the natural position for Hamilton. After all, his father, Jovani, and grandfather, Curtis, both played the position.

But Hamilton seemed to play everywhere but running back growing up. He was known more as a linebacker in youth league football and played wide receiver on the Mustangs' junior varsity last season.

It was not until the spring that Hamilton suggested he should be a running back. The coaches agreed.

It took only one game before Hamilton started to find his groove. He reeled off seven straight 100-yard games — all wins — and finished the regular season with 1,111 yards and 19 touchdowns.

"I thought I'd be able to get maybe 1,000 yards," Hamilton said. "I never would have thought I'd have that many touchdowns."

Hamilton said he models his game after former San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

"Well, the younger version of LaDainian," Hamilton said. "I like him because he's a smaller guy like me."

At 6-feet, 170 pounds, Hamilton tries his best to dodge defenders to avoid the big hits. Still, Hamilton had his share of bumps and bruises in his first full season as a featured ball carrier. That's why Mitchell coach Andy Schmitz rested his star player last week.

"It's exciting to be in the playoffs," Hamilton said. "We'll be ready."

Malik Davis, Jesuit

At 5-foot-11, 182 pounds, the Jesuit junior may look small, but his contributions to the offense have been anything but. Davis missed two games to injury but has still rushed for a Hillsborough-County best 1,660 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also is Jesuit's career leader in rushing yards (3,879), surpassing former Georgia Tech running back Will Glover's mark of 3,866 yards set in 1998.

Here's a look at three of Davis' better rushing performances this season:

Jesuit 21, Jefferson 14

Stat line: 200 yards, 2 TDs

Quotable: "I would say he's very relentlessness when he runs. He's got a great forward lean; every time he's tackled he falls forward." — Jefferson coach Jeremy Earle

Jesuit 35, Tampa Catholic 20

Stat line: 357 yards, 3 TDs

Quotable: "The biggest thing for us has got to be to tackle him, and it has to be five, six, seven, eight guys tackling him. He's a strong kid. … He's not a guy that's going to go down with one guy." — TC coach Mike Gregory

Jesuit 44, Robinson 13

Stat line: 209 yards, 5 TDs

Quotable: "(He's a) very gifted runner. … He's got a low center of gravity, good balance and runs behind his pads. Those all equal problems to tackle." — Robinson coach Shawn Taylor

Devan Barrett, Tampa Catholic

It wasn't as if Barrett was late coming onto the scene, but Tampa Catholic coach Mike Gregory admits he didn't quite know the gem he had in the 6-foot-1, 190-pound running back right away.

Barrett spent his freshman season and the beginning of his sophomore year playing mostly defensive back, a position Barrett said he enjoyed a lot.

Still, he said he was itching to get some touches on the other side of the ball.

"I played running back as a little kid. I loved playing running back," Barrett said. "I kind of came here with three seniors in front of me. I just waited my turn, and whenever I got the ball, I just made it the best."

That was especially evident in the Crusaders' district game against Berkeley Prep on Oct. 17, 2014.

Tampa Catholic had lost the first four games of the season and was looking for a spark. It found it in Barrett, who rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns as the Crusaders topped the Bucs 28-14.

From there, Barrett never looked back.

The junior has been a crucial weapon for Tampa Catholic (8-2) this season, and his 1,586 rushing yards are second most in Hillsborough County.

"He's patient and explosive," Gregory said. "He waits for it, and when he sees it, he goes. There's no tap dancing. … Once he gets to the second level, there aren't many people catching him."

As his number of touches has picked up, so has his recruiting. Barrett has 15 offers, and is seriously considering Miami, Florida, West Virginia and Kentucky.

But until then, Barrett is just pleased to have found his niche on the football field, and is focused on keeping his breakout season alive.

"I'm just happy I can produce for my team and bring my team to the playoffs," he said. "And maybe we can win this thing."

Travis Wateska, Osceola

Wateska attended Seminole High with high hopes of being a star running back. The only problem was that he had never played the position and the Warhawks already had an outstanding back in Ra'quanne Dickens.

During his freshman year, Wateska was stuck on the defensive line, despite being only 5-foot-8, 160 pounds. As a sophomore he was promoted to third-string back. Then, during a game against Dunedin, Dickens got injured. Wateska was given a shot, finishing the game with nearly 170 yards on 10 carries.

"I was always the understudy," Wateska said. "I was the scout team running back. Then Ra'quanne got hurt and they threw me in there. It kind of stuck."

Wateska would have been at Seminole again this year, but he was accepted into Osceola's fundamental program after nearly two years on the waiting list.

"I decided that it would be best for my grades if I transferred," Wateska said.

He has fit right into coach George Palmer's running attack, with 1,214 yards in nine games. He missed most of the Clearwater game with a neck injury, but bounced back for 90 yards and a touchdown against his old team, Seminole, in the season finale.

"I love it," Wateska said of playing at Osceola. "Just line up and hit them. I'm not the biggest back out there and I'm sure some of these big linebackers look at me and think they're going to hit me. I love going up against them and hitting them back."

And, more than anything, he loves being on a winning team. Osceola (7-3) and plays at Charlotte in the first round of the playoffs.

"To me, it's all about winning games," Wateska said. "I've never won many games. The most I won in a season was five and that was in Little League. Just being able to win games is great."