There aren't a lot of better ways to describe Belton-Honea Path football's offense than how coach Russell Blackston puts it: "It's almost like we're a single-wing type team on offense but out of a shotgun look."
To put it plainly, the Bears (3-0) run the darn football.
BHP has run the ball 140 times for 1,155 yards with 17 touchdowns. In comparison, it's thrown the ball 37 times — that's a little less than a 4-to-1 run/pass ratio.
But why does Belton-Honea Path run it so much? Well, when you have the running back group it has, you'd run it that often, too.
"Defense wins championships, but offense controls the game, it controls the pace, it controls how many snaps the other team gets and I learned many years ago, for the offense to do that, it needs to be able to run the ball," Blackston said. "And when you have one great running back, that's unbelievable, two's even better, and three, well, that's the special sauce and that's what we have here."
Senior Shaheem Robbs and juniors Marquise Henderson and Justin Lathon are the three running backs that make up what is the best RB room in the Upstate.
Henderson, a three-star prospect with offers from Vanderbilt, Virginia, Cincinnati, Arizona and others, is the headline-grabber and a big play waiting to happen.
His ability to break long runs and glide past defenders drives fear into the hearts of opposing defenses. "He's the electrical one. He's the one that everybody knows about, the one everybody fears the most," Blackston said.
"Like Coach said, I'm the electric one that's going to break the long runs," Henderson said. "I feel like I can bring a lot to the running back room because of that ability. I know I can always get past that first guy with my first step coming off my cut."
Despite the headlines going to Henderson, according to Blackston, it's Robbs that makes their offensive approach click.
"Shaheem is a bowling ball of butcher knives ... he's our between-the-tackles runner, that people just bounce off of," Blackston said. "Robbs is the one that makes us go, he really is. When Shaheem gets in there and establishes himself, he changes the pace of the game for when Marquise gets in."
"I feel like I wear down the defense a lot like because of how I play, running between the tackles and going straight on defenders, for when Marquise gets the ball and just runs past everybody," Robbs said.
Just when defenses think they have two figured out, here comes the two-way defensive lineman/running back whose play is only matched by his leadership.
"Justin Lathon, he's like a bull in the china shop, he just wrecks everything when he goes in," Blackston said.
Lathon knows exactly how his role as the third back helps them win games.
"If one of us gets tired, we always have the other to come in and get the job done," he said.
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That recognition from Lathon alludes to the maturity and self-sacrificing nature he brings to their group. "He's just an unbelievable person is how I would describe Justin," Blackston said. "He'll do whatever is needed for the good of BHP. Justin's a great team guy, a great leader and has great ability on the field, too. I'm really proud of what he's able to do for our team."
Last season, over 12 games, the three combined to carry the ball 328 times for 2,568 yards with 29 touchdowns. But beyond that success they've already had, the three lean on each other to focus on the right things.
"We're all here to get better and work every day to build this team up," Henderson said. "And the relationship we have is amazing because we work every day, we're able to hold each other accountable every day, and because of that, we've become disciplined to the point that we know the little things we need to do that help us get better when we get on the field."
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