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Kris Hayward started out playing fullback in middle school, but that didn't last long.
“I was really unathletic,” Hayward recalled. “I just wasn't mature enough.”
Hayward was moved to offensive guard his freshman year at Eastwood, so it was a big adjustment – and a welcome one.
“I heard we were going to run the 'jet' a lot,” said Hayward, a senior who starts at linebacker and right guard in Eastwood's wing-T offense. “You're running as fast as you can, with the running back right behind you. He's right there behind you and you know he is going to come off your block.”
The Eagles' left guard is junior Adam Wolf who, along with Hayward, forms the heart and soul of Eastwood's offensive line. Behind the line's play and a plethora of talented running backs, coach Jerry Rutherford's Eagles are averaging 8.5 yards per rush and 364.8 rushing yards per game.
With two regular-season games remaining, this week at home against Woodmore and next week at third-ranked Genoa, Eastwood (8-0, 5-0 Northern Buckeye Conference) has moved up to seventh in the Division IV state poll and second in the Region 14 computer ratings.
“In the wing-T, the guards are the main offensive linemen,” said Rutherford, in his 30th year at Eastwood. “We have two really good guards, probably the best two guards we've ever had at one time. He and Adam Wolf have done a tremendous job.”
Hayward said, “That's a huge compliment coming from coach Rutherford. He's been around the game a long time. For him to be running the wing-T for a while and saying that, that is a huge compliment. The line is always talking in the huddle, like what went wrong on a certain play and how we can fix it.”
Hayward is just as good, or even better, on the other side of the ball at middle linebacker. He was a first-team All-Suburban Lakes League linebacker last season, and he leads the Eagles in total tackles (78), solo tackles (52) and assists (26).
Hayward (5-11, 205) has seven tackles for loss, which is second on the team, with one sack, one fumble recovery and one caused fumble.
“He's a great kid and he works real hard for us,” Rutherford said. “He put a lot of time in the weight room for us this past year. If you had to pick some guys who are our leaders, he would be one of them. We ask him to stop the run, because we need to stop the run. That's our main focus with the linebackers, to step up and stop the run.
“Our feeling is, if we can out-rush a team, we'll be able to beat them. That's our goal. Kris has pretty good strength and he moves really well.”
Hayward, 18, flip-flopped when asked which position he likes to play more, guard or linebacker.
“I like defense a little more,” he said. “I just like the freedom of it. You can run around and hit people. But, I like offense. It's the best of both worlds. I like going out there and blocking people. It's fun to me.”
Hayward, who plays right field for the Eagles' baseball team, said a 37-34 season-opening win at Patrick Henry (6-2) on Aug. 26 gave this year's squad all the confidence in the world. Eastwood has outscored its opponents by a 425-123 margin and has scored 35 points or more in all eight games, including 52 or more in its last six games.
“I knew we would win some of these games really big,” Hayward said. “Definitely, the first win gave us a huge confidence boost. After that, we knew we could compete in every game we played in. We expect to win.”
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