Player of the week: Spring Valley’s Ty’Juan Fulton makes the most of his carries

Spring Valley coach Robin Bacon remembers Ty’Juan Fulton not getting a carry last year against Westwood, and he was going to make sure that didn’t happen this time around.

On Friday, Fulton got his carries and delivered with one his best games of his career to earn The State’s Offensive Player of the Week honors in a 21-14 win against the Redhawks. The senior rushed for a career-high 237 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Vikings clinched a spot in the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

Spring Valley closes its regular season Thursday at home against Blythewood.

“I was going to make sure he touched it anyway he could. He is just one of those backs you got to get the ball in his hands and he could make things happen,” Bacon said. “I told him he was playing well and he needed to make big plays, because that is the kind of person he is. I told him if he got in the open field, I didn’t think anyone could catch him, and he was ready to play.”

Fulton, who also is a member of the Vikings track team, has been the workhorse in Spring Valley’s run-oriented offense and had 237 of the team’s 268 yards rushing against Westwood. The senior leads the team with 1,083 yards and 17 TDs.

Against Westwood, Fulton got only 15 carries, but averaged 15.8 yards every time he touched the ball. His rushing total might have gone over 300 yards if a couple of his runs, including a 54-yard TD, weren’t called back because of penalties.

Fulton said Friday’s game might not have been his best this season. He thought his four-touchdown game against South Aiken earlier in the year, in which he had nearly 300 all-purpose yards, might have been better, but the performance against Westwood was more meaningful because of what was at stake.

“I tried to make the best of what I could with what Coach gave me. Try to run as hard as I can when I touched the ball,” Fulton said. “This was a big win for us to get into the playoffs. We needed the win, and the seniors grouped together, and everyone stepped up. We didn’t want to go out without playing in the playoffs our senior year.”

Fulton praised the Vikings’ offensive line, which is healthy for the first time since early in the season, for providing big running lanes against Westwood. Linemen Prince Howard and Ty Tallant each graded out at more than 90 percent and combined for 15 pancake blocks.

“It was an O-line game,” Fulton said. “They helped dominate and helped me get my yards.”

The Vikings look to lean on Fulton and the rest of the running game against Blythewood. With a win, Spring Valley has a shot to host a first-round playoff game, but is 1-6 all-time against the Bengals.

“It is a rival game, and we haven’t had any success against Blythewood,” Bacon said. “They do a good job over there coaching and have great athletes. I told them you have a chance to beat all four teams in your district, and a win probably is going to put us at home. And that is the most significant things for our kids to play at home for the playoffs.”