How's this for your backup tailback? 401 rushing yards

That is what Angier Harnett Central got from senior Brian Baker in Friday’s 62-33 battering of Overhills.

According to Harnett Central coach Marc Morris, Baker is primarily the slot receiver in the team’s spread offense. He’s also the No.2 tailback, but he was promoted to No.1 when starting TB Jarrod Spears suffered an ankle injury two games into the season.

Now, Baker is no big-time recruit. He’s 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, and because of that, he’ll likely end up at an NCAA Division II or III college. But on Friday, he looked like Barry Sanders.

Baker finished with six touchdowns, and only needed 30 carries to pile up those 401 yards.

“We knew he had a bunch of yards,” Morris said. “We didn’t know how many.”

Morris added that several of Baker’s TD bursts were the break free and run forever kind, but he didn’t have specific lengths on them.

I asked Morris if that was a school record..

“Nah, Mike Hill had 485 in 2001, I think,” Morris said.

Whatever. For one night at least, Harnett Central’s backup TB had a lot of fun playing No.1.

--Stan Olson