Roman Driggers, King's Academy's "lightning in a bottle," had another big night in a district victory for King's Academy.
King's Academy deployed their third quarterback in as many weeks on Friday night, but it was Roman Driggers who stole the show in a 28-6 runway victory over Inlet Grove.
Making his first career start, London Janse van Rensberg was able to play game-manager with King's Academy's ground game running amok in their Week 6 home game.
A week removed from a performance that put the "special" in special teams, Driggers was electric pounding the rock on Friday, scoring his first touchdown of the season on a fourth down play in the red zone.
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That score has been a long time coming for Driggers and felt like quite the pay-day after putting in so much leg work — literally —toward the Lions' offense this season.
"At any time, he could touch the ball and be gone — it's like lightning in a bottle," head coach Dan Burack said, describing the junior as a running back who "can take it to the house any play."
"Roman is an amazing young man," Burack continued. "The one thing that stands out about him the most is that he's willing to sacrifice all the little things. He doesn't skip workouts. He's a 'yes sir, no sir' kid, puts God first, does excellent in the classroom, so it makes it easy when you have a guy of that caliber and an excellent athlete to carry our team on a run."
A transfer from Palm Beach Central, Driggers was handed the ball exactly four times last season with the Broncos — in a crowded running back room, there weren't enough carries to go around.
He's been a gold-mine addition for the Lions and entered Friday's win with 139 yards on 33 carries entering Friday's game.
Driggers certainly bolstered those totals with some hard running on Friday night, setting the tone for the game with a 13-yard gain around the edge with an impressive cut upfield into the secondary before defenders could reach him.
"He's got explosion that we know we can count on," Burack said. "I think people underestimate him because he's a little on the short side. It's always good to have that little bit of adversity, that little chip on your shoulder because he does run like he's 6-foot-4, 200 pounds."
While he says scoring was certainly a plus, Driggers doesn't want all the credit.
The junior back, who says he models his game after Christian McCaffrey, is simply happy to be a team player on a program that is hitting its stride.
"I give all my thanks to my O-line," Driggers said. "I wouldn't be anything without them. I give them all the props, and coaches, too. They know what they're doing."
Last week, he broke out on a 95-yard kickoff return that set up a score. This week was his first touchdown.
Lions fans won't have to wait long to find out what he does next when King's Academy finishes its postponed game against Westwood on Monday, September 29.
Alex Peterman covers high school sports for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Roman Driggers embracing workhorse role for King's Academy offense
Category: General Sports
