TARBORO —
With blazing speed and the ability to get outside to break away from the pack helped Tarboro Vikings running back Quentin Roberson gain a lot of his yards this season.
It also helped that Roberson runs the 40-yard dash in 4.3 seconds. He gained 1,960 yards this season and scored 27 touchdowns.
He was named theNCHSAA 2-A Offensive Player of the Game after his 202 yard, two touchdown performance in the state championship game.
With his success this season, Roberson is The Daily Southerner's 2012 All-County Offensive Player of the Year.
"Quentin has been a great player for us and was huge for us this season," Craddock said. "He was one of the kids I was concerned about early on in his career because I didn't know which way he was going to go. He matured a lot over the course of his career and was instrumental for us this season."
Roberson had five games where he rushed for over 200 yards. He missed two games this season with an injury, but when he came back he was re-energized and put on a show.
Roberson didn't see much action in the back field last season, because the Vikings had a lot of players in that position, but he came on this year and exploded from the beginning of the season and never looked back.
"It was rewarding for him during his senior year after he was patient during his junior season," Craddock said. "It was very nice for him to introduce himself to the scene this year and give us more then what we could have asked for out of him."
Roberson introduced himself to the scene as if he was a seasoned veteran who had been on the big stage before. Roberson knew coming into the season he was going to have to be a leader on the offensive side of the ball. In fact, he did that. He carried the load for the Vikings and when it came down to crunch time, Tarboro's coaching staff decided it was Roberson they were going to rely on to get the job done.
"We gave him the rock when we needed big plays," Craddock said. "He worked hard for us and gave us exactly what we wanted from him."
Roberson knew the bar was set high for him this season, because he had big shoes to fill. He was following Todd Gurley and knew if he was going to be productive he was going to have to work extremely hard during the offseason.
"Quentin came in and knew he was going to be the focal point of our offense," Craddock said. "He met our expectations."
The options are open for Roberson to continue his football career and go on to the next level to play. He will probably end up playing in a junior college. With his athletic ability he meets all the requirements. He falls short in other requirements though, but is working to improve on those and possibly advance to the next level and play college football.
"If everything to get him into college was based on just carrying the football it would be easy for him to go to college and play," Craddock said. "We are doing the best we can and Quentin is working hard to improve."
There are two more running backs who dominated for their teams this year that made the All-County team. One was a senior for the SouthWest Edgecombe Cougars, Gerald Hinton and the other was a freshman who shined the entire season at North Edgecombe. Warriors running back Antoine Pittman.
Hinton has been an explosive player for the Cougars for two seasons. He carried the load for them this year and gained 1,629 yards and scored 25 touchdowns. Hinton averaged 135.8 yards per game. He ran the ball 216 times and was the only Cougar running back to run the ball over a 100 times this season.
He also caught 13 passes for 198 yards and scored twice receiving the ball. He also had 205 return yards on kickoffs and 58 return yards on punt returns.
Pittman exploded out of the gates for the Warriors this season. He carried the ball 122 times and gained 812 yards. He scored 12 touchdowns. Pittman averaged 6.6 yards per carry this year.
Pittman started the season at fullback, but after the fourth game of the season, he was moved to the running back spot where he continued to shine for the Warriors.
He impressed the Warriors coaching staff and made a quick name for himself as he emerged on the scene.
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Related Photos
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Tarboro Vikings senior running back Quentin Roberson is The Daily Southerner’s 2012 All-County Offensive Player of the Year. For The Daily Southerner
Vikings Roberson All-County Offensive Player of the Year
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Tarboro beats SouthWest 16-11
Tarboro and SouthWest battled it out Friday night in the 15-under Nash County Babe Ruth League at Municipal Stadium. It was a game that included 30 walks, 13 errors and 27 runs scored. Tarboro was able to hold on and win 16-11.
SouthWest, who is winless this year, fought back time and time again and took advantage of 18 walks and the six errors Tarboro committed. SouthWest has a team filled with 13 and 14-year olds playing against older players. They were able to hold their own though and take advantage of different situations. -
Jones, Pittman starting new semi-pro team in Tarboro
If you had a dream of playing professional football, but were never given the chance out of high school or college, now is the time for you to become a professional.
Three citizens in the community came up with the idea to organize a semi-pro football team and came up with the team name, East Carolina Buccaneers.
Mike Jones and Marty Pittman are co-owners of the organization. -
LITTLE TARHEEL CHAMPIONS
Pizza Inn won the Little Tarheel League baseball championship through the Tarboro Parks and Recreation Department. They had a 10-1 record this season and in the last six seasons, Pizza Inn has won six straight titles and have a record of 66-13. Members of the championship team are from left to right, kneeling, Deshawn Moss, Clark Dupree, Ricardo Hernandez, Seth Paramore, Landon Riley, Eric Moss and Tobais Joyner. Middle row, Hunter Gardner, Mason Riley, Justin Rameriz, Mike Wiggins, Eli Williamson, Eric Jones and CJ Joyner. Back row, coaches Ken Oliver, Mike Riley, Bo Dupree, Nick Oliver and Bill Howerin.
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Tars drop season opener 8-7 to Nash County
Fielding errors and throwing errors played a big part in the Tarboro Tars season opener loss Tuesday night at Municipal Stadium. Nash County defeated the Tars 8-7 in the Coastal Plains Senior Babe Ruth league opener.
Tarboro trailed three times in the game and twice they made comebacks. After the second comeback, they took the lead, but that didn't last long after the Tars defense fell apart. -
New punishments need to be added in MLB
The main question remains about Major League Baseball. Why do the same players names continue to appear when it comes to using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs)?
Last year, Commissioner Bud Selig said that they were going to crack down on drug testing, but the fact is how many players have been tested so far through this season? -
10 Under Champs
The Riptide won the 10-under girl's softball league through the Tarboro Parks and Recreation Department. They finished the season with a 7-2-1 record. Pictured from left to right, kneeling, Hannah Scott, Autumn Partain, Rena Harris, Kaliyah Lynch, Hailee Whitehurst, Hailey Boyette, second row, Sarah Harrell, Carly Webb, Taylor Williams, Alysia Braswell, Ziniya Tillery, Yasmine Shannon. Back row, Coaches Van Webb, Ken Williams and Ross Whitehurst.
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Tarboro Parks and Recreation scores
The following scores are from the baseball and softball leagues played at Indian Lake Sports Complex through the Tarboro Parks and Recreation Department.
Baseball
Little Tarheel League
Pizza Inn 14 WRL Farms 4
Leading hitters – Pizza Inn – Justin Rameriz 4-4, Hunter Gardner 3-3, Mike WIggins 2-3, Eli Williamson 2-3, Tobias Joyner 1-1 WRL Farms – Ryan Scott 2-2, Layton Dupree 2-2, Tanner Wittig 1-2, Dillon Johnson 1-2 -
Thorne chosen to play in Powerade game
Tarboro Lady Vikings soccer phenom Shayla Thorne has added another accolade to her credentials. She was one of 19 players selected to play in the Powerade State Games on the 2013 East women's team.
She won't be the only one from Tarboro participating in the state games, because Tarboro coach Leshaun Jenkins was also named the head coach of the women's East team. -
MMS Athletes of the Year
A their annual athletic banquet, Martin Middle School announced that Shanice Mercer, left, and Kendrick Pittman were the recipients of the Mike Alford Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Mercer was a cheerleader and played softball. Pittman played football, basketball and baseball.
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Five rule changes for high school basketball in 2014
During a recent session in April, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Basketball Rules Committee made five rule changes to the game.
The first part of the session talked about safety and fighting on the court. After voting, the board decided to revise Rule 10-4-5.
Beginning in 2014, the revised rule states that head coaches in high school basketball will be allowed to come onto the court in an effort to break up a fight or to keep a situation from escalating into one.
Before the rule was revised, head coaches could only enter the court if beckoned by an official. - More Sports Headlines
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