MEADVILLE – Franklin County fullback Cecil Kenzie is a powerrunner. In last Friday night’s 41-13 Region 7-3A win over theCrystal Springs Tigers, Kenzie resembled a deisel truck as hecollected 151 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns for theBulldogs.

For his achievement, Kenzie has been named The DailyLeader’s Offensive Player of the Week for the eighth week ofthe 2002 football season.

In the victory over Crystal Springs, Kenzie rushed for acareer-high 124 yards on 17 carries. His touchdowns were on runs of4-yards both times.

Kenzie, a 5-foot-8, 195-pound senior, was pleased and surprisedto be named Offensive Player of the Week.

“It feels pretty good,” said Kenzie.

Kenzie runs a 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds. In the weight room,he bench presses 290 pounds and squats 435 pounds. His muscularbuild helps him on the football field, especially running thefootball.

Since the summer, Kenzie has steadily improved in strength andspeed.

“The last three weeks, Cecil has really started playing well,”said Franklin County first-year head football coach Anthony Hart.”He had some nagging injuries but he seems to be over them now. Heis running extremely hard.”

Kenzie is able to move well with his muscular frame.

“Kenzie has good speed for a fullback,” explained Hart. “He’s astrong kid and he runs well. He has a lot of strength in his lowerbody.”

On the playing field, Kenzie puts his heart and soul intoplaying a great game and helping the Bulldogs win.

“He’s an emotional type kid,” Hart added. “You usually know howhe’s feeling. He has done a great job for us the last threeweeks.”

Kenzie’s favorite call on offense is the 12 Belly. After takingthe handoff from quarterback Colby Beach, Kenzie said, “I come outfrom where I’m lined up and I’m off to the races.”

Kenzie has adjusted to Hart’s coaching philosophy and haslearned many new things about football. “I really enjoy playing forhim a lot,” smiled Kenzie. “He has taught us a lot of things wedidn’t know.”

As Kenzie explained, the offensive line is the key to thescoring. His starting linemen include Michael Smith at tight end,Josh Bradford at right tackle, Brandon Halford at right guard,Catlyn Wactor at center, Larry Hall at left guard and Jake Bucklesat left tackle.

The Bulldogs are aware that this Friday night’s Region 7-3A foe,Amite County, has improved since last year.

Kenzie said he felt that teamwork is the key to beating AmiteCounty. “We must play as a team. We need to play hard like we didlast week.”

School was out Monday but the Bulldogs practiced at 10 a.m. Hartsaid all but one of the players made it to practice.

Right now, Franklin (6-2, 3-1) and Amite (4-4, 3-1) are tied forsecond place in the district. Hazlehurst (7-1, 4-0), unbeaten inregion play, currently leads in the race. A win Friday would secureFranklin the No. 2 spot and a chance to host a first-round stateplayoff game. The No. 3 and No. 4 teams travel for the first gameof the playoffs.

Kenzie’s favorite college football team is MississippiState.

In the NFL, his favorite player is running back Marshall Faulkof the St. Louis Rams.

Kenzie is thankful for the people who have helped him with hissuccess. “I’d like to thank my mother, Betty Amos,” he said. “Shehas done a lot for me. I’d like to thank everybody for playing as ateam. And I’d like to thank all of our coaches.”