Ricardo’s Rising Star: Antwain Littleton

Last Saturday there was a highly anticipated showdown between the Heat and War Eagles. The anticipation for this game had been ratcheted up thanks to a clutch performance the previous week by Rusty Markland’s guys, as quarterback, Ben Cuellar put on a stunning show in leading them to a last-minute victory. That, combined with the fact the Heat were coming off of their first in state loss in years, made for a dramatic atmosphere during warm-ups.

Many in the stands were eager to see how Coach Byrd’s team would respond to adversity; it didn’t take them long to find out. Antwain Littleton was utilized early and often. The downhill back with tremendous size set the tone. His first half touchdowns gave the Heat a commanding lead and despite a some nice runs by Ethan Nicely, and an eye-opening interception from the War Eagles’, Nate Kurisky, Coach Byrd’s’ squad never looked back.

Austin Tutas, QB of the Heat, was superb in leading the charge. Jordan Anderson and Caleb Coombs made spectacular play-after-play, but the star of the show was Littleton. His force and physicality appeared to break the spirit of the War Eagles, and thus, the game was essentially over before it got started.

There has been much debate over whether Antwain can and will play running back at the next level, but he had a carry during this game that should silence much of that chatter. Littleton took a hand-off from inside his own 10, patiently followed his blocks off right tackle, used his vision to get into the open field, displayed enough agility to cut on a dime, making a would-be tackler grab air, then out ran the rest of the team to the end zone. Touchdown. Yea, I’d say that will translate at just about any level.

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