Editor’s Note: This is the third in a 7-part series highlighting the top football players in the area who encompass leadership, athleticism and game-changing abilities for their teams in 2016. The players are taken from rosters of high school teams in The Star-Herald coverage area and are nominated by their coaches. Sports editor Stan Beall makes the selections. The players will be revealed one at a time over a 7-week period and are in no particular order. Previously selected were McAdams’ Mark Stewart and Kosciusko’s B.J. Johnson.
Three plays into his junior season Ethel Tiger quarterback/safety Hayes Wood’s season was over.
A knee injury requiring surgery cut his season short, but it did not take away his determination. Just a short six months later Wood helped to lead the Tiger baseball team to the Class 1A State Championship Series at Trustmark Park with his stellar defensive play, a timely bat and quality innings on the mound. Most ACL/LCL meniscus injuries take much longer to get over, but with Wood’s grit and determination, he made it back quickly and feels better than ever.
“My knee feels stronger than it did last year, and I have worked really hard to get back on the field,” Wood said. “It was hard watching my team play last year and not be on the field with them. I have worked really hard to get back out there and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
The 5-9, 147- pound Wood was slotted to play primarily safety last year, but Tiger head coach Hogan Briscoe feels that he may be the best option under center in 2016 as well.
“When somebody comes in and puts in the work and time in the weight room that he does and has the football background he does, there’s no question who I want back there,” he said. “You know what you’re going to get out of him and there is never a question on Friday night if he’s going to play hard; you are going to get all he’s got. When you have a player like that it makes the job of picking that position a lot easier and that is why he was picked to be our Super 7 representative.”
Wood has been on the sidelines for as long as he can remember. When his father Jim Wood, who is now the principal at Ethel High School, was the head coach at Weir, he was with him and the Lion football team most all of the time. His knowledge of the game, which is vast, may only be superseded by his athletic ability.
“One of the first things I noticed about Hayes last year is that he is a general out there on the field,” added Briscoe. “He leads off the field as well, but on the field he knows what’s going on and where everybody is supposed to be. He just knows what’s going on and doesn’t have to ask a whole lot of questions. You just know that he is always going to be where he is supposed to be and he will help others get there as well.”
Wood feels like having a successful season at Ethel is something that can be done this year.
“We are just like everybody else when it comes to winning,” said Wood. “It can happen if we all work hard and play hard every down.”
Playing 1A football takes a special athlete. There are no defensive or offensive specialists when it comes to which side of the ball they play on because most 1A football players go both ways for 48 minutes.
“It takes a lot of conditioning because you know that you are not going to get many breaks playing both sides of the ball,” added Wood. “I’ve been working out in the heat trying to prepare myself for not getting off the field a whole lot.”
Growing up around football and being around a tradition-rich program like Weir High School had been, Wood has seen a lot of wins on the football field.
“Coming from Weir where I had seen a lot of wins, it means a lot to me,” said Wood. “I’m just going to give this season everything I’ve got and see what happens.” Preparing for a game is something Wood seems to have figured out as well when he said, “Mentally you have to focus and let the adrenaline take over the rest as you get that Friday night feeling,” which is what most former athletes miss the most about playing high school football.
Hayes Wood’s goals for 2016 are to win a lot of games and be a leader for his team.
“When you see little kids running around outside of the field and knowing that they look up to you, that means a lot to me,” said Wood. “It keeps me going knowing that you have to lead by example because you never know who’s watching and my faith helps me to share it both on and off the field.”
Coach Briscoe states that Wood’s leadership abilities are off the charts and that it makes his job much easier with him out there directing traffic for his offense and defense. “It just made it easy for me to pick Hayes as our Super 7 player because he just has all the leadership qualities and athletic ability to make my job easier.”
