Decatur's speedy back bursts onto the scene in first year with team

Bob Knox stood on the sidelines during Stephen Decatur’s Sept. 15 matchup against Washington feeling a slight soreness in his neck.

Moving his head back-and-forth, Knox, the head coach for the Decatur football team, was doing everything he could to get the kink out of his neck as his team held on to a 21-point lead in the second half.

But before he knew it, the longtime coach felt another spike of pain overcome his neck.

However, the problems weren’t due to some ongoing issue Knox had been dealing with — the pain was attributed to his constant whipping of the head when Decatur senior running back Tah’Jeem Woodland would burst down the field to score a touchdown.

Pinned at Decatur’s own 30-yard line, quarterback Dominic Klebe handed the ball off to Woodland, who immediately set his eyes toward the left side of the offensive line.

Side-stepping to his left, Woodland cut through the Jaguars’ defensive linemen, sped ahead of a defender and quickly advanced the ball upfield.

Before he knew it, Woodland was in the end zone for his sixth touchdown of the night, sealing the 42-14 victory for Decatur.

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“He had a good game, the kids did a great job blocking for him, and that’s the great thing about him — he’s so versatile, and when he gets out there with some speed, he’s tough to catch,” Knox said.  

The end zone has been where Woodland has found himself often in the 2017 season.

Despite this being Woodland’s first year on Decatur’s varsity squad, the senior back has been the face of the offense, scoring nine rushing touchdowns, putting up nearly 1,400 yards and averaging 9.7 yards per run.

His recent success hasn’t come as a surprise to the Seahawks’ back. When the first whistle blows, he goes out and does the job he was assigned, crediting his offensive line for the bulk of his achievements.  

“The line blocking, they’ve made amazing blocks this year, even during the hard games,” Woodland said. “They’re always holes I can hit, and really it’s just like a foot-race from there.”

While Woodland says he's always been fast, beginning his football career at 7 years old, it took some time for the star back to develop his power and athleticism to compete with some of the best players in the Bayside Conference.

Prior to the season, Knox and his coaching staff challenged their players to a "tough-man on the boards" play, a one-on-one drill designed to build strength, while boosting a player’s reputation throughout the team.

“We knew that he was fast, but we didn’t know how tough he was,” Knox said. “Tough-man on the boards, it’s not a place for wimps — you have to earn the win.”

But when Woodland lined up for his first "tough-man on the boards," he immediately showed what he had to offer, knocking his opponent to the ground and solidifying himself as a core member of the Seahawks.

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“He did a nice job there, and we feel comfortable running him in any play,” Knox said. “Our second scrimmage up in Cambridge, we had to change our offense, and that’s when he began to run inside more, and he's had some great runs for us."

Like many current high school players, Woodland is a dual-sport athlete, excelling on the football field, basketball court, and track.

His constant training and preparation give the senior an advantage he doesn’t believe others necessarily have. With his work on the court and his sprints on the track, Woodland said he has the tools and legs to dart past opposing defenders and straight to the end zone.

However, even with the talent he brought to the field, Woodland’s biggest challenge coming into the season would be learning a new system with a different group of teammates and a new style of coaching.

Transferring from St. Georges in Delaware, Woodland quickly emerged as the team’s new starting back, but it was the relationships he made off the field that gave him the confidence to perform at a high level.

“It was great,” Woodland said. “I had known some people from eighth grade, I had gone to Stephen Decatur Middle, and I had done weight-lifting class with coach Knox, so I had a pretty good feel for things coming in.”

In his first year with the blue and white, Woodland’s speed hasn't been the only thing to widen Decatur fans' eyes come Friday nights. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior also serves as the team’s safety and punt returner.

Through nine games, Woodland has returned four punts for scores, while taking an interception to the house earlier in the year.

It’s that same versatility Woodland displays on a weekly basis that makes Knox think he is ready for the college level.

“He doesn’t only have the athletic skill, but he’s an intelligent kid, and you have to have both of those,” Knox said. “He’s also a good character kid, and there’s a lot of kids who only have one of those things. He’s a good student and he’s athletic, so I think he can make it.”  

Woodland has yet to commit to a college, but the senior said he has sent out his highlight tape to nearly 150 coaches, hoping to get a call sooner rather than later.

While he has a passion for all three sports he plays, Woodland would like to have a future in football, modeling his game after Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell.

But the NFL isn’t where Woodland’s mind is currently — he’s focusing on schoolwork, friends and enjoying his final days as a Seahawk.

On Thursday afternoon, Woodland and the team dressed for their last practice of the season. Decatur’s final game was played Friday at Snow Hill.

As Woodland jogged onto the field for practice, he couldn’t help but feel sentimental, knowing this would be one of the last times he and his team would be together as a unit.

“It’s really hitting me,” Woodland said with a laugh. “We’ve got to go out with a win.”  

Once he steps off the field for the last time, his focus will shift to basketball, but the senior hopes he will have left a mark on the football field that younger players will try to mirror.

Although he only has one season as a Decatur football player under his belt, Woodland knows it will be his team’s mentality and ability to overcome adversity that will be remembered for years to come.

“I hope they say he was a good athlete and really improved Decatur and helped them become a better team,” Woodland said. “We always battled, even if we didn’t win, we battled until it was over.”