Caesar runs Riverside to 3-0, hopes to take farther

By BILLY GOMILA

Contributing Writer

RESERVE – Monday Night Football has long been the NFL’s showcase for his best players. The likes of Brett Favre, Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders always seemed to come up with some sort of Sportscenter highlight play for the prime time audience.

This past Monday night, albeit on a slightly smaller stage, Riverside Academy’s Jarid Caesar made a few prime time plays of his own. Rushing for 257 yards and four touchdowns, the 5-8 sophomore running back led the Rebels (3-0) to a 51-20 victory, earning them the L’Observateur’s Team of the Week honor.

Caesar did his best Barry Sanders impression by ducking, dodging, jumping, juking and weaving through the Ram defense. He was the Picasso of the cutback, reversing field and sprinting through tacklers on big play after big play.

He’s also got a little of Sanders’ humble streak in him as well.

“It’s really all up to my offensive line,” Caesar said. “They do their job and I do mine.”

Caesar went on to add that he had a little extra motivation to beat West St. John, a team that Riverside hadn’t topped since 2001.

“Last year they beat us pretty bad,” he said. “We practiced hard all week and I wanted to win. It’s a team thing though, not an individual.”

Caesar lists Baton Rouge native Warrick Dunn of the Atlanta Falcons as one of his favorite professional players, and said he also enjoys watching Adrian Peterson of the University of Oklahoma. His style more fits the mercurial Dunn, a quick scatback-type who led the Falcons in rushing last season.

West St. John isn’t the only team Caesar said he’s anxious to face this year. St. James and St. Charles Catholic are two other teams he hopes he can lead his team to a victory against.

Head coach Mickey Roussel’s spread attack finds a multitude of ways to put the ball in Caesar’s hands through both the run and the pass, and he’ll have ample opportunity to run for many more yards this year. But in the end, winning is all he really wants.

“I just want to try and take my team all the way,” Caesar said. “As far as I can take them.”