Back-to-back: GHSF Daily bestows top honor on WL’s Cummings for second week in a row

Ty Cummings made plenty of history with his 613-yard, eight-touchdown rushing effort last Friday in a West Laurens win over Baldwin. 

But after the accounting of stats recorded, records broken and minds blown over the weekend, there was still one more unheard-of accomplishment to come the following Monday when the Raider senior learned he had been selected as Georgia High School Football Daily’s state player of the week for a second time in a row. 

The email newsletter, a popular read among high school football coaches and fans statewide, honors both a top-performing individual and a distinguished team with awards each week. 

After earning the player of the week nod in recognition of a 223-yard, two-touchdown rushing night at Harlem the week prior, Cummings’ explosion – to blow both those numbers out of the water – Friday against Baldwin made his repeat win a virtual no-brainer. 

GHSF Daily marketing director Ted Langford, who made a second trip down to Dexter Wednesday afternoon for the presentation, called it a “game for the ages.” 

“Most every week, (the decision is) very difficult, because there are so many talented players in the state of Georgia, and every week, there are great individual performances,” he said. “It wasn’t hard this week. It was clear, when we got up Saturday morning, of who had the best game in the state.” 

With over 300-something Georgia high schools, and only about 17 weeks worth of season, counting regulation and playoffs, it takes a lot for any player to stand out enough to receive the award to begin with. 

“It’s hard just to win it one time,” Langford said. 

Getting it twice? An even taller task. 

To date, just two players in the publication’s 17-year existence have ever been selected a second time in their high school career. 

Both – Justice Haynes (one of the state’s top-10 all-time leading rushers) of Blessed Trinity and Buford, along with Travis Hunter (also a leader in the state receiving record books, and an eventual Heisman-winner at Colorado) of Collins Hill – are among the state’s greatest players in recent memory. 

In each case, the honor was earned in two different seasons, Haynes his sophomore and senior years, and Hunter as a junior, then senior. 

Cummings becomes the state’s first ever to do it twice in a season, and also in back-to-back weeks. 

“This couldn’t happen to a better guy,” said West Laurens head coach Kip Burdette. “We’re really proud of Ty, proud of our program, proud of our coaching staff… I hope we’re just getting rolling.” 

After a much-needed Friday off, West Laurens kicks off its final four-game stretch next week at Richmond Academy. 

Joining Langford Wednesday was not only Brooks Hendrix, a local agent representing award sponsor Alfa Insurance, but also the company’s Americus-based district manager Paul Blanchard. 

The program, this time held in the school cafeteria, welcomed the entire Raider football team and coaching staff to join in acknowledging Cummings, but also multiple teammates whose contributions in the game were also singled out. 

Though the award is an individual honor, it’s one that’s not possible without the support of the 10 other players on the field, and 70-something others on the sideline and practice. 

“It’s my belief that they don’t celebrate players off of bad football teams,” Burdette said. “Everybody in this room had a little part of that.” 

It should also be noted the last time a Laurens County player was named Georgia High School Football player of the week – Dublin’s JaQues Evans, better known as “Donut,” in 2019 – his team went on to win the state championship. 

And both the two-timers mentioned above would also win it all later in the season they were honored. 

But no pressure… 

“You still have a lot of football to play, but when we get to the Mercedes-Benz dome at the beginning of December, Brooks and I will be the ones handing out the trophies on that night,” Blanchard told the team. “I really hope that it’s you guys and this man (Cummings) standing right here and y’all’s coach that gets that trophy.” 

‘This season’s going to be special’… 

A lot about last Friday was absolutely bonkers. 

Besides the stat line of Cummings, which mirrored a record scoring performance for the team as a whole, there were a few other interesting quirks to note in the game’s box score. 

Baldwin – led by the five touchdowns and over 400 yards of quarterback Kamden Patterson, who was  recognized alongside Cummings among GHSF Daily’s weekly “top five” – actually outgained West Laurens in total yardage, 703-643. 

The gap in the possession-related stat categories was even more unthinkable. 

The spread was 65 in plays from scrimmage, of which the Braves ran 93, and West Laurens only 28. The visitors also picked up an incredible 31 first downs, against only three. 

The Raiders, in fact, snapped the ball only once past second down of a series. Baldwin, meanwhile, labored extensively in working out a 6-of-15 conversion rate on third downs, and 7-for-10 on fourth. 

“The most bizarre game I’ve ever seen,” said Laurens County Schools athletic director Jeff Clayton, who compiles the team’s official numbers. 

Cummings, once the enormity of it all set in, was at as much of a loss for words as everyone watching from the stands, sideline and press box. 

“It didn’t hit me till I got in the shower that night,” he said. “I got in the shower and I was like, we just really did that? I just really rushed for 600-plus yards. That’s crazy.” 

Covering that much ground, on nearly 20 carries, takes some stamina, and leaves even many of the best-conditioned of players exhausted. 

Cummings, who was in the same boat on some long nights involving as many wide-open runs earlier in his career, credits that durability to some strict off-field discipline when it comes to nutrition, hydration and training habits. 

“I just stay conditioned outside of practice and in practice, and I don’t put anything crazy in my body,” he said. “I go home, do school work and go to sleep.” 

Cummings, Langford and Burdette each gave plenty of love to members of the West Laurens offensive line – Grady Howell, Trey Williams, Tramel Tobler, Michael Dasher, Christian Rozier and Jonathan Toney – whose work was instrumental in the big game. 

Up-blockers in Evan Holmes, Evan Williams and even quarterback Cason Pollock were also due some major props for their work leading the way. 

And there’s no doubt the unique (and frequently candid) relationship between those big men up front and rushers in the Raiders’ running back room is a big reason they’re averaging over 11 yards per carry, and – after Friday’s game – over 350 yards a night on the ground. 

“We hold each other accountable,” Cummings said. “If I slack, they get on my tail. If they slack, I get on them. I just like the team chemistry we’ve all got in practice and games.” 

Plenty of that also goes back to the camaraderie and competitive edge shared by West Laurens’ current senior class, which – looking back – had much of this planned out way back in eighth grade.  

“We’ve been playing all together since like fourth grade rec football,” Cummings said. “Our eighth grade year, we lost in the first round, and we all told each other we were going to win it our senior year.” 

Following a 6-0 start, the now ninth-ranked Raiders have every possible goal in their sights… a potential region title as a definite possibility. 

But if the extreme limits explored last Friday were any indication, some historic accomplishments of a much larger scale could also be in play for a generational team that’s dedicated to achieving its best, whatever that happens to be. 

“One of our goals was to try to be the best team to ever come through West Laurens,” Cummings said. “I think the quote/unquote best team was 11-2, maybe. So we want to just win out, and our goal is to go 15-0 and win state. 

“This season’s going to be very special for us.”