By Donald Heath
Special for the Effingham Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Winning as a team on Friday nights in football season often comes down to winning individual matchups on the field.
Friday morning, June 14, at Rebel Field, Effingham County had Jacque’s “Q” King step up to lead the way in a 7-on-7 scrimmage against Southeast Bulloch.
Score and statistics aren’t kept, but you don’t need a weatherman to tell you when it’s raining.
Rebel wide receiver King’s impact was that obvious.
“It’s always good to see other competition from other teams,” the 6-foot-1, 165-pounder said. “You get to see what you have to work on. It’s a good thing for the offense.”
King, a second-team all-region performer last season, headlines a strong senior receiving group that includes second-team all-region Ryan Wells and honorable mention Lamar Roberts.
King shares a common trait with his decorated pass-catching mates – he excels in multiple sports. King starts in center field on the baseball team. Wells is the starting right fielder.
Roberts plays point guard in basketball and runs the sprint events in track.
“Multi-sport athletes always seem to understand space and leverage and angles,” ECHS coach John Ford said. “There’s something about understanding where you are in reference to other people. Most of our skill guys play multiple sports.”
King doesn’t have blazing speed, but he has good hands and runs routes with enough perception and deception to seemingly create two to three yards of separation on most plays.
His goals for the upcoming season are modest, 300-400 receiving yards, he said.
“We have a lot of good receivers so everyone will get his chance,” King said. “I’d like to make it far in the playoffs and have a good season, maybe be all-region.”
He caught 22 passes for 245 yards last season and had a touchdown in the Rebels’ region-clinching victory over Brunswick.
King had a touchdown reception in the spring game against Richmond Hill.
And he’s produced some memorable moments on the baseball diamond. King hit .307 as a sophomore. As a junior, after a February to forget (2-for-22), he batted .289 the rest of the way. His dramatic two-run home run against South Effingham to tie the game in the fifth inning was a highlight in the team’s disappointing season.
On defense, King’s anticipation allows him to track down balls in center fielder with the best of them. He plays shallow but balls rarely go over his head.
“I like both sports. It’s hard for me to choose but after a couple of years on this field (playing football), I’m liking football more,” said King, smiling, knowing Ford was within earshot.
Effingham County will continue multi-team organized training activities with 7-on-7 workouts at Georgia Southern University on Friday (June 21). The Rebels went to Ware County on June 18.
