Evans is as steady as they come. Reagan played ball control, riding Evans against top teams who stacked boxes. Still, the rising junior averaged nearly eight yards per carry on 23 touches per game. He wears defenses down, and he’s as important to his team’s success as any player on this list.

The clear top guy in the county is also one of the top overall running backs in the state. Evans was a true workhorse, averaging nearly 25 touches per game and at times taking over against top teams. He was so reliable that the Raiders’ entire gameplan revolved around knowing he and the offensive line could salt games away on the ground. He has great pad level and contact balance, and is one of the most consistent, between-the-tackles back in the state.

Evans has been even more important to his team’s success than his numbers suggest. The Raiders have been a methodical, ball-control offense to supplement an excellent defense, and Evans has picked up over half of the team’s yardage, as he’s on pace for a 1,500-yard regular season. He’s a load to bring down and h’es been able to wear down more than a handful of teams this season, doing a bunch of his damage in the second half against teams with tired legs.

We liked Reagan coming into the season, and we obviously like Evans, but we’ve still been surprised at how heavily they’ve relied on the sophomore back. Evans went over 180 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns on Friday as Reagan bullied a good Reidsville team. Evans is on pace for nearly 250 carries, 1,800 yards, and 20 touchdowns in the regular season alone this season.

With excellent size, John had a wonderful freshman season, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season. The burst through the hole that John shows is very impressive, especially for his size. John also shows an impressive ability to break tackles in space – something you rarely see from freshmen at the varsity level because they haven’t had a chance to work in the weight room just yet. As time goes on, I expect John to just continue to increase his production and become a strong college football prospect.

Evans is a huge back, especially as a freshman, weighing well over 200 pounds. But despite his size, he doesn’t seek out contact, instead using his elusiveness to avoid would-be tacklers and get to the open field. He’s a homerun threat with plenty of speed to both get to the edge and take it to the house and he’s a guy we’re watching closely as he transitions to sophomore year.