‘He is blue collar’: Amir Abrams was focal point of Newberry offense

Amir Abrams was hard to bring down on the football field this season and it wasn’t easy getting him off the field either.

Newberry coach Phil Strickland remembered the first time the team played Chapman in which Abrams carried the ball 48 times, rushed for 272 yards and three scores in the 28-27 win.

It was one of three times this season Abrams carried the ball at least 39 times in a game this season.

“He waved us off and didn’t want to come out,” Strickland said. “He wanted the football and it’s hard to not give someone the ball that wants the football like that.”

Abrams was the focal point of the Newberry offense, which lost four starting offensive lineman and Shrine Bowl quarterback Yafari Werts. The junior delivered by doubling his rushing total from last season and led the Midlands with 2,486 yards and 37 total touchdowns in earning The State’s Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Abrams’ numbers are more impressive considering he missed an equivalent of a 1 ½ games because of injury.

“When we lost Yafari Werts, people doubted us, but we always had our coach on our side,” Abrams said. “We picked it up and got to work. I want to thank my line. Without them, I wouldn’t have had the success I had this year.”

“He is blue collar, hard running he sees the hole and takes it. It’s hard to bring him down,” Strickland said of Abrams. “We probably do him a disservice by not throwing him the ball much because he is a good receiver. But he runs really hard, works hard in weight room and got a knack for finding the hole. He has such great vision.”

As a sophomore, he rushed for 1,271 yards, second on team behind Werts. This year, the 5-foot-9, 187-pound Abrams got better as the season went along. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards in Newberry’s four postseason games with five touchdown games against Emerald and Indian Land.

In the 3A Upper State title game, he rushed for 257 yards and four TDs, three in the second half, as Bulldogs rallied from 27-7 deficit before losing 34-27.

“He came back and pretty much carried us and we should’ve won that game,” Strickland said. “Amir is just really good with the football and wants it.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "‘He is blue collar’: Amir Abrams was focal point of Newberry offense."