Workhorse is the correct term for what junior Taven Graves is for the North Hardin offense. Last season, the running back would get plenty of opportunities to develop a reputation in his second season as the go-to-guy for Coach Brent Thompson’s attack and help keep the heat off a young sophomore quarterback (Isaiah Bankhead).
In his first game against powerful Central Hardin, Graves carried 30-times for 82-hard earned yards and showed his versatility by nabbing nine of Bankhead’s passes for 72 more in a 28-21 loss. That game began a trend as Graves ability to slip tackles and move the ball gave the Trojan offense a new dimension as he would carry 24-times the following week against Western (for 148-yards and 3-touchdowns) in a big win and continued that pace against Southwestern with 21 more for 130-yards.
Although he only touched the ball 11-times against Warren Central, the Graves would average about 20-carries in three of North Hardin’s next four games, but his offensive success didn’t add to immediate wins as the Trojans would drop six straight games. With John Hardin coming up next and the team’s playoff situation on the line, the game plan was simple: Give it to Graves as much as they could and let him carry the team. Against the powerful Bulldogs, who had apparently corrected several deficiencies in their defensive line which had led to an uncharacteristic 0-4 start, running the ball would seem to be the LAST thing North Hardin would want to do, but that’s what they did and against a team which they hadn’t beaten since 2005 and had NEVER scored more than 28-points against, the Trojans came out ready to roll.
After so many other situations where the Trojans offense would stall in the red zone early in the season, this was not the case and built a 10-7 lead in the first quarter scoring on their first two possessions on Graves 1-yard run and a field goal, then after stopping the Bulldogs on their first two chances with the ball extended their lead scoring three more touchdowns just before the half with Graves getting two of those on 9-yard and a 2-yard runs to push it to 30-14. Graves would pick up another score in the third quarter on a 1-yard run in an eventual 44-36 Trojan win and in the process kept their faint playoff hopes alive. For the game, Graves carried the ball 42-times (which ranked 16th in the KHSAA for most in a single game) and gained 216-yards against traditionally one of the toughest places to run the ball or win (the game was at John Hardin).
Graves, also scored 4-touchdowns and helped give his team a balanced attack which allowed Bankhead to throw 29-times and complete 16 for 233-yards and two-touchdowns. To prove that the Bulldog performance wasn’t a fluke, the following week in the season finale against the always tough Meade County Green Wave Graves carried 34 more times for 158-yards and two-touchdowns. The Trojans rallied from 13-points down in the fourth quarter to tie the game on Graves 9-yard run at 37 with a little over six minutes to go, but a missed PAT prevented them from taking the lead. Meade County would score with 00:34 remaining to eventually win 44-37 and end the Trojans slim playoff hopes.
All told, Graves ended the season with 1,281-yards rushing on 240-carries and 13-touchdowns. He caught 50-passes for 627-yards and 3-more sixes. Graves could have padded his stats even more if the Trojans had been playoff bound.
Now going into the new season, the Trojans will have a new stadium, a new Classification and a different attitude, but hopefully the same old Graves, who will have the workhorse mentality that only a Trojan horse, could have.
