Crestwood's Moore helps carry Knights to region title, wins Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

When teams get into crunch time, they pull out all of the stops.

That's exactly what the Crestwood football team did on Friday when they made the trip to Camden with the Region VI-3A title on the line.

The Knights pulled out a new formation, one that features one running back next to senior QB Javion Martin in the pistol, while another back stands deep behind them both. The formation put the Bulldogs on their heels, as both Seneca Moore and Azarian Yates rushed for more than 100 yards with multiple trips to the end zone.

Moore, lined up alongside Martin, only needed eight carries to run all over Camden, including a late 65-yard run on the first play after waiting in the locker room during a 40-minute lightning delay. His performance was enough to earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It means a lot; I'm glad I've got people on my side and my teammates," Moore said of the support from the Crestwood faithful. "They love me, and I love them, too. We're winning, and we've got four home playoff games. I'm excited and have to lock in."

Moore has been a huge addition to the Knights this season after transferring from Lakewood amid their prolonged coaching search during the summer. Before Friday, Moore was primarily used as a defensive lineman. His play at the position garnered an invitation to play in the North-South all-star game. Offensively, he's primarily been a goal line back, but head coach Roosevelt Nelson knew it was time to include the explosive athlete more on the offensive side of the ball.

"That's something we've been working on each day in practice, making sure we've got it in our back pocket. That was the game we had to bring it out with it being a must-win game for us," Nelson said. "He responded well and did a good job with it."

For most of the season, Moore has been a hot rod that's been left revving his engine in the garage. He was more than ready to hit the streets on Friday, as he rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

"I wasn't really getting carries this season, but this game, when they needed me, I just stepped up to the plate," Moore said. "They couldn't stop it. We've been practicing with it the whole week, and we just went in the game and aced it. They couldn't stop it, and I don't really think nobody can stop it. It's just an unstoppable formation."

The senior running back and defensive star isn't worried about teams being able to come up with a game plan to shut down their new formation.

"We've just got to keep bringing it, keep bringing them problems," Moore said. "They ain't want no smoke. They can't stop us."

Now that Moore is getting a few more touches on offense, the question becomes how the Knights find time for him to catch his breath between defensive series. Nelson thinks Moore is a talented enough athlete to handle his own at this point in the season.

"You pick and choose when you use him with the right down and distance, the right part of the field, the right part of the game," Nelson said. "But he definitely can handle it. It's the end of the season, he's in good shape, so our best players have to play."

Always animated, Moore was excited beyond belief after the Knights secured the region title on Friday. Now that he's had some time to reflect on the result, that energy hasn't dissipated.

"We're No. 1. It just means we have to keep working harder," Moore said. "We're not satisfied; we're trying to go for it all this year."

The Knights have one regular season game left, a matchup with Moore's old stomping grounds, Lakewood. Once the playoffs begin, they only have one box left to check off.

"We're trying to go for it all. We're trying to win everything," Moore said. "We're trying to be the top of the top."