Football Farmington's Hobbs To Shoulder Big Workload

 STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Justice Hobbs, Farmington running back, rushed for 908 yards and five touchdowns on 154 carries last season.
STAFF PHOTO BEN GOFF • @NWABenGoff Justice Hobbs, Farmington running back, rushed for 908 yards and five touchdowns on 154 carries last season.

FARMINGTON -- Justice Hobbs had quite the breakout season in his sophomore year at Farmington. Hobbs was only getting started.

Now 20 pounds lighter after an offseason focused on his speed and conditioning, it's no secret who will be the bell cow in the Cardinals' rushing attack this fall.

Justice Hobbs

School: Farmington

Class: Junior

Position: Running Back

Height: 5-10

Weight: 195

Notable: Named NWA Media Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore. … Rushed for 908 yards on 154 carries and scored five touchdowns. … Also had seven receptions for 73 yards. … Named all-conference. … Father was an all-state player at Charleston. … Helped Cardinals to third-place finish in 4A-1 Conference.

"He is stronger, but he's not bigger and that's the best thing," Farmington coach Mike Adams said. "He played at about 215 pounds last year and he's down to 195 this year. He's gotten a lot stronger and probably even faster. He ran track this spring and he's been a speed development school, so his speed is much improved and we expect a lot out of Justice.

"He's a guy we're going to get the ball in his hands 25 to 30 times a game."

Hobbs rushed for 908 yards and five touchdowns on 154 carries last season, leading Farmington a 6-4-1 record and a third-place finish in the 4A-1 Conference. While those numbers are nothing to sneeze at, the Cardinals will count on an even heavier workload from their talented tailback as they make the move up to the 5A-West Conference this season.

"I like the challenge," Hobbs said. "I had a pretty good year last year but hopefully I can do even more this season."

Farmington isn't just all ground and pound, though. With a strong-armed Brice Waggle at quarterback and a slew of talented receivers, Adams is counting on a balance in the offensive game plan to offset defenses who plan on focusing in on Hobbs.

"I think we have a chance to be real balanced," Adams said. "We've got some good threats on the outside, some guys we feel good about with (Evan) Odell and Michael Ingram and Nick Huff, and (Brice) Waggle is having a good fall throwing the football. So hopefully that will take some pressure off and them won't load the box up on Hobbs. But we'll take what they give us."

Hobbs said the Cardinals are motivated by being the team overlooked as the new kids on the block in the 5A-West this year. Just as much, Farmington wants to improve on what it considers a bad finish to last year's 6-4-1 season.

"The way we ended the season last year, we really didn't like that," Hobbs said. "Going (6-4-1) last year, we really didn't like how last year ended, so we want to improve on that."

Hobbs has already grabbed the attention of some college coaches with his one impressive year at the high school level, along with his work in summer camps. And while his skills on the field have caught their eye, his similar work ethic off the field has been just as valuable to the Cardinals.

"He's a guy that calls and wants to get extra work in the weight room," Adams said. "That's the kind of kid he is.

"He understands we need him strong and he works at it. He's here all summer and we had some 6 o'clock workouts and he was asking for some more of them. So he's that kind of kid. He wants to go to college to play football and he understands the type of work it takes to get there."

Sports on 08/30/2014

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