Thrown in spotlight, senior Fox is shining

CLIMAX — Logan Fox has that unique ability for a running back to run through, around or past defenders on any given play. That’s why the Providence Grove High School senior has been such a key component as the Patriots drive toward another successful season.

Because of the depth of the PG rushing attack, Fox saw very few carries through his first three seasons — 26 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns. But he has the spotlight pointed directly at him this year and he’s not disappointing.
 

“I don't know how many things we blocked right tonight, but Logan said I’m just not going down,” PG coach David Hayes said after watching Fox score two touchdowns in a very physical 20-9 Piedmont Athletic Conference win over Trinity last Friday night at PGHS. “You can't teach that. There's not a drill you can do for a kid to have that kind of heart.
 

“When he looks at you and says, ‘give me the ball, let’s go,’ it doesn’t matter what you call.”

Whatever is called, Fox, at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, usually makes it a positive play. Inside or outside, he has the talent to run through linemen and linebackers or to outrun the secondary. Each time he touches the ball, there’s a possibility for something special occurring for the PG offense.

And it’s come in the first year he has been the feature back. In previous campaigns, the Pats leaned on Zander Cheek and Zane Cheek for the bulk of the carries and rightfully so, as the twins responded with 1,690 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground just last year.

But with new quarterback James Ellis and Fox now in main roles, the Patriots haven’t skipped a beat offensively, scoring an average of nearly 25 points per game.

Fox rushed for 112 yards and two scores last Friday, scoring from 7 yards in the first quarter and 2 yards in the second.

“You are going to get a lot of doses,” Hayes said of his senior running back. “We don’t say go through Gap A or Gap B or Gap C, we say be an athlete and in the last couple of weeks he’s embraced taking the ball wherever it goes and come out on top. He’s phenomenal with his patience.”

Like all great high school running backs, it takes more than just one player to bring Fox down.

“That’s kind of how I was raised,” Fox said after the Trinity win, sporting the 2023 Homecoming King sash across his chest. “I was raised playing football and since I was little, I was taught never to give up on a play and I’m the better man and no one can beat me. Keep getting yards no matter how many people are trying to tackle me.”

Fox said he was ready for the heavy load, even after the coaching switch when Calvin Brown and most of the coaching staff moved over to Asheboro High School. 

“I knew I was going to have a pretty big role,” Fox said. “Coach Hayes right away established I would have a big role with this team and I tried to do my best at it, help in any way I can.”
 

Things are going to get a lot tougher for Fox and he said he knows it.

“We know Randleman is going to be a tough opponent,” Fox said of this Friday’s foe. “They have a really good defense and we are going to have to be really dialed in with everything we do. If you aren’t, they will take advantage. We are going to have to spend this week dialing in on every aspect of our offense.”