We haven’t heard the last of Courtney Williams
He’s a guy whose name dots the record books at Davis High — the type of athlete whose accomplishments are seen, maybe, once every decade or so.
By anybody else’s standards, what Courtney Williams provided Blue Devil fans in track and football over the past two years would have been sufficient.
By Williams’ standards — robbed by injuries of a full season on the gridiron last fall — there was disappointment.
But judging from his return to form late in this track season, and his game plan for college, the sports world hasn’t heard the last of Courtney Williams.
“I feel like track and football have helped build my character in a positive way,” Williams said Friday after running his last race — a deep-in-the-pack 100 meters at the Sac-Joaquin Masters meet. “Just the things that have happened to me … how I’ve had to bounce back from football and progress through in track have been a (test).”
Williams will graduate next week. Running the 4×100 relay and the 100-meter dash, the senior helped DHS win its first-ever track and field section championship two weeks ago.
Along the way, Williams’ times got better and better as he recovered from a football-season beating and a thigh injury that took longer than expected to fully recover.
And his quiet, by-example leadership was a lamp shining light on the surprising Blue Devil tracksters.
“This year, more than any other, he worked hard. His times improved as a result … and guys looked to him just by his work ethic,” Davis head track coach Spencer Elliott said of Williams. “He’s one of those guys we’ll really miss.”
Along with relay mates Alec Zavala, Michael Njoku and Derek Nelson, Williams helped the school set a record in the 4×100 with a 42.48 in the 2010 Delta Valley Conference championships.
Earlier in the season, he went 10.7 in the 100 — another DHS mark.
After rushing for 1,056 yards on a struggling 2-8 Devil football team in 2009, some of his performances pointed to a break-out final year at tailback …
One outing in particular, against Valley, saw Williams score five touchdowns in less than 18 minutes. Then-coach Dan Gazzaniga tucked his wizard’s talents away for another day, but his five touchdowns in a game were a school record.
Williams was on everybody’s radar. Opposing schools worked on ways to stop the 5-foot-11, 185-pound speedster. Colleges were asking about the talented back.
Coming into 2010, new coach Steve Smyte saw his solar system revolving around Williams.
It was Smyte’s plan to have Williams line up in various spots, confusing defenses, using his speed. Williams would run back kickoffs and punts. He would even play safety on defense. The Blue Devils were thin in numbers, and Williams was Smyte’s best choice at so many different spots.
The one concern: Keep Courtney Williams healthy.
But after a brilliant first half in a 31-6 season-opening win over Armijo, the world would see a healthy football-playing Williams for the last time.
An early, dinky, little swing pass from Shayne Reagan went for a 73-yard Williams touchdown. No. 22 split defenders at the line of scrimmage and off he went. Smyte’s grand plan was perfect.
Later, Williams returned a punt 83 yards to the 1-yard line. The Franchise was panning out.
Then came what Smyte feared most …
Williams missed the second half with leg cramps. In a loss the following week to Sacramento, Williams scored his last touchdowns of the season. He also suffered an ankle injury.
Against Wood (another loss), Williams went down again. He’d miss four games, taking with him, according to Smyte, “about three-fourths of our options.”
Still, Williams battled back. He promised not to miss the Grant game. Even though it was a 56-0 blowout by the Pacers, Williams gave it a battle. Seven carries. Eight yards.
The determination — courage, if you will — of Courtney Williams was not deterred.
In what may have been the best performance of his career, on Senior Night at Ron & Mary Brown Stadium, Williams gutted out 86 yards on 17 chances. No touchdowns, but he had a 31-yard scamper that was a key in bringing the Devils back from the abyss against Elk Grove.
Down 33-0 at one point, DHS rallied, but eventually lost, 45-37. Williams, still badly injured, showed the steel will that made him, well, Courtney Williams.
The senior doesn’t dwell on the what-ifs. He loved his track season and has moved on from the disappointment of an injury-plagued 1-9 grid campaign.
Upon graduation, he’ll attend UC Davis.
Elliott added, if “he wanted to, he could run track in college.”
Or play football … Williams is thinking about both.
“I’m going to try (to play) football. I’m going to walk on,” the sprinter said. “A major? I don’t know. There’s a lot to think about. That time will come. Right now, I’m enjoying the last weeks of high school.”
— Reach Bruce Gallaudet at bgallaudet@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8047.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=49809
Posted by Bruce Gallaudet
on May 30 2011.
Last Login: Wed 16 May 2012 11:36:53 AM PDT
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