Ahmad Hardy is The Daily Leader’s Offensive Player of the Week
Published 10:00 am Wednesday, September 14, 2022
- Ahmad Hardy
You’ll get tired of trying to tackle Lawrence County junior running back Ahmad Hardy. You’ll get tired of tackling Hardy long before he gets tired of carrying the ball.
A human wrecking ball with the rock in his hands, Hardy demolished the Natchez defense Friday in Adams County.
Hardy carried the ball 15 times for 182 yards and four touchdowns in what ended up being a 43-30 win for Lawrence County and coach Jesse Anderson.
For his strong play, Hardy has been named The Daily Leader Offensive Player of the Week.
It’s the second time this season for Hardy to earn POW honors as he was picked for his defensive play in the season opener against Brookhaven High.
LC led 16-6 after the first quarter and 30-6 after three quarters.
Natchez coach Steve Davis said that Lawrence County was more physical than his team and that was apparent on a 54-yard touchdown run by Hardy in the game.
A pair of Natchez High defenders blocked Hardy’s path as he ran towards the right side of the line. What they didn’t do was attack his legs or try to wrap him up.
Instead, the Bulldogs defenders reached out and tried to grab Hardy by the shoulder pads to bring him down.
That was nothing but a failure as Hardy cut across the face of the linebackers and outrun everyone on the field towards the end zone.
Later in the game Hardy peeled off a 25-yard scoring run where everyone wearing the blue jersey of Natchez High trailed behind his cleat marks.
Hardy even got in on the scoring via special teams as he returned a kickoff 70-yards for a touchdown.
The ball bounced off his chest and onto the turf and while the Bulldog coverage team looked down towards the loose football, Hardy picked it up and shot out past everyone that was tasked with tackling him.
He later nearly broke another kickoff return for a score, before six Bulldogs teamed up to take him down.
Explosive plays for big gains makes any team better and thus far in a 3-0 start to the season, Hardy has created some huge plays for Lawrence County.
Through three games he’s run for 505 yards, seven touchdowns and is averaging 14.4 yards per carry.
“He has the physical tools, but a lot of kids have that too and can’t do what he does,” said Anderson of Hardy. “His heart is what separates him. He’s a fierce competitor that hates to go down.”
Anderson, Hardy and the rest of the Cougars are back in Monticello on Friday hosting Taylorsville (1-2).