(Shallotte Area Sports Photo/W.A. Myatt)
Motashi Lance has proved he is a threat to score anytime he carries the football for West Brunswick.
He has 33 rushes for 587 yards and seven touchdowns in three games.
The standard reactions to the shifty, short, speedy and sturdy senior are “Where did he come from?” and “Look at him go!”
Lance played on the junior varsity team as a freshman but did not come out as a sophomore and junior.
His identity has been concealed to a degree by the fact that he wears No. 16 but has been listed on the MaxPreps roster as No. 30.
Ethan Winship has gained some notoriety as No. 16 on the West roster.
Trojans coach Aaron Powell has known who Lance is for several years.
“We tried for two years to get him back out,” Powell said. “Now everyone else is seeing what we already knew he could do.”
Lance is making up for lost time with a sound work ethic in practice.
“He is just about his business,” Powell said. “He comes in and works and it pays off on Friday nights.”
Lance’s emergence has allowed big back Marzell Stanley to focus more on defense for the time being. That’s helped compensate for the absence of linebackers Israel Saunders and Isaac Clarida, who have been recovering from injuries.
The Trojans are 1-2 going into their final nonconference game of the regular season at South Columbus (1-2) on Friday night at 7 p.m.
The two losses have been by a total of four points, including a 42-41 overtime setback at home to North Myrtle Beach last week. The Trojans were denied at the end on a winning 2-point conversion attempt.
Lance was not utilized on the game-ending try, apparently because of some late-game cramping. He had 16 carries for 305 yards with four TDs.
