ASHLAND — In Westwood something special is happening.

Many Eagles fans who “Believe in the Wood,” are pointing out certain stats.

Two receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Fourteen rushes for 369 yards and eight touchdowns.

And all these numbers come from one player in just two games.

These are the stats of running back Elijah King.

The senior transfer from Huntington High has left defenses in his wake the past two weeks, and he doesn’t look to be slowing down.

I finally had a chance to catch King in person this past week at Greenup County.

And while the defense wasn’t the best in the area, one thing was certain: He is fast. Really fast.

It seemed like whenever he touched the ball, defenders couldn’t touch him.

I’ll let Fairview coach Nathan McPeek describe what it’s like to watch King in action.

“He is just so much faster than everybody else,” McPeek said after the Eagles’ win over Casey County. “He makes great cuts. If he is not a Division I player, then no one is. He is just as good as the people that I played with at Marshall.”

That’s high praise for a high school kid, but so far it’s warranted. Good players make bad teams pay, which is exactly what King has done.

Fairview already has two of the top five rushers in the area with Chris Brewer and Devon Turner, and King is a speedster that adds one more dimension to a dangerous Eagles backfield.

Those in Westwood feel something special is happening, and are saying a chance at a Class A state championship is possible. I agree.

But I also agree that Raceland has just as good a chance as Fairview at making it to Bowling Green in December.

NOTE:

There has been plenty of talk surrounding King (and fellow Huntington transfer Mason Rutherford) and how they ended up at Fairview.

I don’t care. This is a football column. I focus on the field, not what’s going on off of it.

I welcome your calls and emails. But fair warning — I will tell you the same thing I just stated.

Game of the week

‰Ironton at Johnson Central, 7:30 p.m. For the first time since 2007, Johnson Central is going up against a team from the Buckeye State.

And it’s not just any team, it’s an Ironton team which some unofficial rankings have as the top team in Division IV in Ohio.

So far Ironton has continued its dominance over Russell with a 47-21 win, and then it gave Ashland its only loss of the season (27-17).

Running back Patrick Lewis has been the real deal for the Tigers, busting out big plays at every turn in leading Ironton to a 5-0 record.

For Johnson Central, running back Daymion Belcher has picked up the slack in the backfield. Last week Belcher ran for 148 yards and three touchdowns against Boyd County.

Week 7 things

to know

‰Fleming County vs. Russell could be the battle of the ground games?

Yes, Fleming County is known for its passing game, and Desmond McAdams has thrown for 1,544 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. But last week against Lewis County, McAdams’ legs did the damage.

The senior quarterback ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Panthers over the Lions.

Russell will need to counter McAdams with its traditional running game featuring Troy Huffine and an emerging Googie Hayes.

Hayes has exploded the past two weeks with 218 yards and four touchdowns.

If Russell wants to pick up the win, it will need to control the ball with the run game and keep the ball out of McAdams’ hands.

Also, there is a question of if McAdams will play. The Panthers’ quarterback was called for a personal foul and ejected from the game against Lewis County.

But, according to the Maysville Ledger-Independent, there was an official review of the call after the game, and it was ruled McAdams will be eligible to play.

The KHSAA website’s disqualifications reports show that McAdams will not be suspended.

‰One team will win its first game tonight. How do I know? Because two team with zero wins play each other.

In the battle of Carter County, East Carter travels to rival West Carter in a meeting of teams that are a combined 0-11.

West Carter (0-5) came close to beating Magoffin County before losing by two. The young team has grown over the season.

East Carter (0-6) continues to struggle to score points, averaging only 12 points per game.

To win this game, it’s going to be about finding some offense. Look for ball possession to become a factor as well.

‰Fairview is undefeated so far this season. I know I used this last week, but something changed to make me use it this week.

Fairview is the only Class A team left with an unblemished record.

Bracken County fell last week to Dayton in a 32-27 shocker. It’s a shocker because Dayton had won only one game before last week.

Fairview is hoping to continue its 16-game regular season winning streak when it takes on Grove City Christian in Ohio tonight.

Shameless plug

Follow The Independent’s Quarterback on Twitter, @DindependentQB. He will be tweeting scores and updates from area games tonight. Watch out though, because he’s trying to get #IlovemyFurby trending, for some weird reason.

For your ears only

Tonight’s radio coverage:

Boyd County at Ashland (WBVB 97.1-FM, wlgcradio.com), Russell at Fleming County (WLGC 105.7-FM), Rowan County at Greenup County (WZZZ 107.5-FM, WMOR 106.1-FM), Fairview at Grove City Christian, Oh. (wlgcradio.com), Ironton at Johnson Central (WIRO 1230 AM, 98.9 WSIP-FM), Lewis County at Mason County (WKKS 104.9-FM), Lawrence County at Sheldon Clark (WZAQ 92.3-FM), East Carter at West Carter (WUGO 102.3-FM).

Final thoughts

Quinton Baker is only 14 years old yet heleads the area in rushing with 716 yards through six games.

The Ashland running back is one of the main reasons the Tomcats are 5-1.

When I was 14, I was barely making a JV team, let alone leading the area in rushing yards.

Baker has responded well to the pressure put on him. Ashland coach Leon Hart didn’t want to put the pressure on him — but he’s had to.

The Tomcats’ backfield was supposed to also consist of Cody Watts, but the senior was injured and forced to miss the season.

If Hart had his way, Baker’s workload wouldn’t consist of 105 carries through six games.

Baker has handled what’s been thrust upon him probably more than Hart could have dreamed.

The scary thing for Ashland’s opponents — Baker still has three more years left.

If he continues at this pace, and continues to develop and work at getting stronger, Baker and the Tomcats could have something special.

KYLE HOBSTETTER can be reached at khobstetter@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2658.