Lee Central's Harry does it all on way to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

Lee Central wide receiver and defensive back Chuck Harry did a little bit of everything for the Stallions on Friday night.

Offensively, he helped jumpstart the passing attack in a 22-7 win over Buford for their second-consecutive victory. Defensively, he jarred a ball loose, swatted down passes and made some bruising hits to help power the unit.

His efforts were enough to earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It's good; I see I've got a lot of support behind me, so it makes me go even harder this year," Harry said of the support from the Lee Central community.

Stallions head coach Justin Danner was proud of Harry's ability to step up as a leader on both sides of the ball in the win.

"That's what you're looking for as a coach. You want your leading guys to step up and make plays because it becomes infectious to the others," Danner said. "He did a good job of going out there and making some big plays. That's what we're looking for out of him."

Harry follows in the footsteps of his brother, Kwantre, as a winner of the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week. Like his older brother, Harry started his career as the Stallions' quarterback and as a standout defensive back. Offensively, Harry shifted out to wide receiver this fall, and he hasn't missed a beat. On Friday, he caught two passes for 76 yards and a score to help jumpstart the offense.

"My quarterback knows that some people can't guard me and all that," Harry said of LCHS signal-caller Ja'Quarius Davis. "We decided to get some deep shots down the field, and I went up and got the ball."

Buford sold out to stop the Lee Central rushing attack, so Danner was proud of their ability to adjust offensively to hit some home runs.

"Any time you can create a little balance, it protects the other side of what you're doing," Danner said of the offense. "The more we're able to create some balance, it'll help what we're doing offensively. It's a weapon, and when you have a weapon, don't be afraid to use it.

"We feel like we'll take whatever they give us. It ended up being a night where they wanted to deny what we were doing on the ground. We wanted to be good enough to throw it, we've been working at it, and when we called upon it on Friday, it was there for us."

Harry played a crucial role for the Stallion defense. That unit turned the tides in the game after Buford got out to a 7-0 lead, as Shadrach Williams pulled down an interception and took it back to the house to tie the game.

"That pick made a huge difference on both sides of the ball. It set the tone for us," Harry said.

Harry was no slouch, swatting down a pair of passes, while knocking a ball loose for a fumble. He made seven tackles, two of which were behind the line of scrimmage.

"I learned a lot from my brother," Harry said. "Before a game, I'll go watch his film to see what he's doing and try to put that into the game that I'm playing to follow in his footsteps."

While Harry isn't lining up at quarterback anymore, his leadership still shows up on both sides of the ball.

"The free safety, we like to think of it as a quarterback, as well, on the defensive side," Danner said. "He's still bringing the leadership piece, still getting us lined up correctly and then getting an opportunity to go make plays."

The Stallions face Latta this week, and Harry thinks they can string a third win in a row together if they keep their same energy going on Friday night.

"We've just got to bring the same momentum every game, have that energy, do the right things in practice," Harry said. "Our team has the ability; we've just got to focus. When we focus, we can do great things."