Football: Gravette's Duarte Bulks Up, Carries Load

 STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Cedric Duarte, Gravette running back, carries the ball during 7-on-7 scrimmages July 28 at a team camp hosted by Gravette in Lions Stadium.
STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Cedric Duarte, Gravette running back, carries the ball during 7-on-7 scrimmages July 28 at a team camp hosted by Gravette in Lions Stadium.

GRAVETTE -- The first thing Cedric Duarte did when he was moved from receiver to tailback last year was hit the weight room, and he did it more often than most football players did.

"I knew I needed to get bigger and faster," the Gravette senior said. "So I hit the weight room hard. I think I went for almost two months where I would come here and be working out three times a day.

At A Glance

Gravette Lions 2014 Football Schedule

Date^Opponent^Time

Sept. 5^Pottsville^7:30 p.m.

Sept. 12^at Mayflower^7:30 p.m.

Sept. 19^at Jay, Okla.^7:30 p.m.

Sept. 26^at Lincoln*^7 p.m.

Oct. 3^Prairie Grove*^7 p.m.

Oct. 10^Pea Ridge*^7 p.m.

Oct. 17^at Berryville*^7 p.m.

Oct. 24^Huntsville*^7 p.m.

Oct. 31^at Shiloh Christian*^7 p.m.

Nov. 7^Gentry*^7 p.m.

  • — 4A-1 Conference game

"I would go in the morning from 5 to 7, then we would have our after-school workouts. After that, I would stay and work out some more, mainly because I was scared. I was a lot smaller than those other guys, and what drove me was being scared."

Gravette coach Bill Harrelson found what he was looking for when he moved Duarte -- who didn't start playing football until he was a freshman -- into the offensive backfield. He finished the season with 257 carries for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns and fumbled the ball only twice.

Duarte had the same type of work ethic on the field that he displayed in the weight room last summer. He carried the ball at least 25 times in five of Gravette's 11 games, including a 39-carry effort against Farmington, and he eclipsed the 200-yard mark in two games.

"We knew he would add a little more speed in the backfield," Harrelson said. "He just took to it. We knew he would run hard and he was durable, and he showed both of those.

"We had given him the ball on a few fly sweeps the year before, and we noticed he had some moves and ran with power. I call it that he ran angry, and that's what you want out of your tailback -- somebody who runs angry all the time and hard to bring down."

Harrelson isn't sure if the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Duarte can run any angrier, but he will be an even stronger runner this fall. He has increased his bench press to 285 pounds, and he broke the school record when he lifted 290 on the power clean this summer.

One thing Duarte won't have to worry about heading into his senior season is being scared any more.

"Once I got into this position, I found out it wasn't that bad," Duarte said. "Now I know what to expect from each team and now to approach a game. I'm also more mature now than I was last year.

"This year, I have to find within myself the ability to be a better leader and lead by example. I've learned that ball security and every blade of grass counts, and I've learned you have to play for the team first and not yourself. Whatever comes after that is just fine."

Sports on 08/27/2014

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