Carver looks for consistency from its running game against LaGrange

In its previous game, Carver opened Region 1-AAAAA play with what can only be described as an ugly win over Columbus. In bad weather, the Tigers survived six turnovers to give the Blue Devils their only loss of the season in a 30-3 victory.

Despite the sloppiness, it may have been one of Carver's more impressive performances for the simple fact that its best player, quarterback Jawon Pass, was completely neutralized by the weather. The passing game became a non-factor because of the wet conditions -- Pass completed just two passes for 26 yards in the game -- and the Tigers had to rely on a different facet of their offense to have success.

Enter the running game.

Running backs Darius Love and Cameron Jessie combined for over 200 rushing yards in the game, with each scoring one of the Tigers' three rushing touchdowns of the game. Jacobi Cunningham added the third on a 30-yard scamper to put the game away in the fourth quarter.

"We were frustrated by the turnovers, but overall the kids kept fighting, and that's always good to see," coach Joe Kegler said. "We'll need the running game to keep having that kind of success going forward."

Love and Jessie are different types of running backs. The former is more of a consistent every-down runner, while Jessie is a little smaller in stature but can hit the home run if given the opportunity.

Love was on the radar as the lead back coming into the season, but Kegler said Jessie is a player who has shown up and surprised a lot of people.

"He's been huge for us," Kegler said. "He put in a lot of work over the offseason. You can tell. He brings a lot of energy. He's always competing."

Jessie said this week that the friendly competition between the two in practice translates to Friday nights.

"It's a friendly competition," he said. "We're trying to compete with each other for the most yards. Every time we get on the field, we're trying to outdo each other. It makes us better as a whole."

This week, Carver travels to LaGrange (8 p.m. today), which poses another stiff region test for the Tigers. The Grangers, despite suffering a region loss to Columbus last week and falling to 3-3 overall, are quick and athletic.

In this game, the weather isn't expected to be a major factor, though there is a chance of rain earlier in the day. With or without its quarterback at full strength, though, Carver needs its running backs to continue to improve and balance the team's offensive attack.

"We have to keep some pressure off of (Pass)," Kegler said. "That's important."

Jessie agreed, adding that Pass is that much better when a defense can't key directly on him.

"It'll be a great help for him," Jessie said.

"It just makes his job that much easier. When he's got time, nobody can stop him. We're just trying to do our part."

This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Carver looks for consistency from its running game against LaGrange ."