Navarre's Carter a 'special player' (ALL-AREA TEAM, VIDEO)

NAVARRE – As he opened the door to head coach Chad Lashley’s office, Navarre running back Dwayne Carter could feel the knot in the back of his throat begin to swell.

For a third straight week, Carter and the Raiders run game had struggled to gain any traction in a 27-23 loss to arch-rival Pace. Carter, who was the centerpiece of Navarre’s record-breaking offense in 2010, had finished the game that night without a rushing touchdown and a paltry 22 yards on eight carries.

Through the first three games of the season, Carter had just 106 yards rushing and not a single touchdown.

Frustrated to the point of tears, he went to his coach.

“Everybody was saying, ‘What’s wrong with the running game?’ and stuff like that,” Carter recalled. “It didn’t bother me when people were talking about me, but when people started talking about the offensive line…that was upsetting me.”

What followed was a heart-to-heart between player and coach.

“He came into the office crying,” former Navarre coach Chad Lashley said, “not because he was selfish, he was crying because he knew if we weren’t able to run the football we didn’t have a chance to win games.

“I remember telling him we were going to get it working.”

From that point on, Carter and the Raiders’ offense worked just fine.

Carter went on to gash opposing defenses for 1,211 yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground – an average of 9.46 yards per carry – to help Navarre to the brink of a second-consecutive playoff berth. He ended the year with 1,317 yards rushing, 1,449 all-purpose yards and 23 total touchdowns.

For his stellar season, Carter has been named the All Sports Association/Daily News big school Football Player of the Year. Carter has also been named the Offensive Player of the Year.

One season after etching his name in the school’s record books, Carter further cemented his place in program lore in 2011.

His 22 rushing touchdowns are the most ever in a single season at Navarre, as was his number of total touchdowns (23) in a season. His 140 points scored is also a single-season record. For his career, Carter leaves Navarre as the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards (3,021), rushing touchdowns (42) and points scored (284).

“It makes you feel good,” Carter said of the numerous records he set as a senior, “(you realize) all that hard work pays off.”

Lashley repeatedly gushed over the 5-foot-8 Carter, calling him a “special player,” who possessed a rare blend of speed, strength and, most importantly, desire. More times than not, it was that desire that left opposing coaches gnashing their teeth from the sideline in hopes that someone – anyone – on their defense could bring Carter down before he crossed the goal line.

“He refused to get tackled,” Lashley said. “It didn’t matter the situation or the play design because he had the potential to break it on any play,” Lashley said. “He could make a good play a great play.”

Never was that more apparent than during the Raiders 56-33 rout of eventual District 2-6A champion Niceville. In that game, the first since his meeting with Lashley, Carter gashed the Eagles’ defense for 307 yards and six touchdowns on 25 carries. It was one carry in particular that still stands out in his mind.

It came on a simple draw, Carter taking the ball from quarterback Dusty Jones and appearing to be stopped cold for a three-yard loss as three different Eagle defensive linemen closed in. Instead, Carter ducked under one would-be tackler, shook free from the grasp of another and turned up field.

Once passed the first wave of Eagle defenders, Carter hit the open field, where two Niceville defensive backs closed in. But as he crossed the Eagles 10-yard line, in a move reminiscent of former USC running back Reggie Bush’s stop-and-go against Fresno State, Carter slammed on the brakes suddenly then re-started, causing the two Niceville players to slam into one another as Carter waltzed across the goal line.

“He was certainly a special player,” Lashley said.

Offensive Lineman of the Year: Earl Reed, Crestview: Reed was the bell cow on what proved to be a punishing Bulldogs’ offensive line. Surprisingly nimble on his feet for a player of his stature – he is listed at 6-3, 340 - Reed is receiving interest from several Division-I programs.

Defensive Player of the Year: Trey Barnes, Niceville: The Eagles’ senior linebacker helped spearhead a unit that was the strength of the District 2-6A champions. Barnes racked up 130 tackles, five quarterback sacks and also blocked a pair of punts.

Defensive Lineman of the Year: Denzel Ware, Crestview: Just a sophomore, Ware was a force along the Bulldogs’ defensive front, finishing the season with 92 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and seven sacks.

Daily News big schools All-Area Football Team

Player of the Year: Dwayne Carter, Navarre

Offensive Player of the Year: Dwayne Carter, Navarre

Defensive Player of the Year: Trey Barnes, Niceville

Offensive Lineman of the Year: Earl Reed, Crestview

Defensive Lineman of the Year: Denzel Ware, Crestview

Coach of the Year: John Hicks, Niceville

First team

Offense

QB: Luke Clark, Choctawhatchee

QB: Dusty Jones, Navarre

RB: Dwayne Carter, Navarre

RB: Micah Reed, Crestview

WR: Brad Leggett, Navarre

WR: Devin Borders, Choctawhatchee

WR: Tyree McCants, Niceville

WR: Marquese Davenport, FWB

OL: Earl Reed, Crestview

OL: Carter Fletcher, Niceville

OL: Jourdan Smith, Choctawhatchee

OL: Jesse Bates, Choctawhatchee

OL: Michael Hill, Navarre

OL: Will Boler, Crestview

K: Andrew Mitchell, Niceville

Defense

DL: Yoshoub Timms, FWB

DL: Joey Collins, Niceville

DL: Denzel Ware, Crestview

DL: Virgilio Hunter, Navarre

DL: Greg Burden, Crestview

LB: Cedric Bridgewater, Choctawhatchee

LB: Dexter Hottel, FWB

LB: Zach Cresse, FWB

LB: Sebastian Schutte, Niceville

LB: Trey Barnes, Niceville

DB: Terrance Bryant, Choctawhatchee

DB: Max Keefe, Choctawhatchee

DB: Denzel Applewhite, Niceville

DB: Demetrius Brown, Navarre

P: Josh Jones, Niceville

All-purpose

Kevin Chasteen, Niceville

Geo Hillsman, Crestview

Matt Hutchison, Crestview

Josh LeMay, Choctawhatchee

Honorable mention

Choctawhatchee: Therion Robinson, Alton Plott, Phillip Sherman, Zach Cragin, Anthony Forte, Darryl Johnson, Darius Hanks, Chase Whitehead, Michael Hawthorne.

Crestview: Tyler Henderson, Alex Campagne, Dakota Dean, Brandon Davis, Andrew Thomas, Dillon Lawson.

Fort Walton Beach: John Marvin, T.C. Carter, Will Ellison, Matt Sheffield, Michael Williams, Ryan Thompson, Kyle Van Atta, Austin Campbell.

Navarre: Marquis Hagewood, Jordan Leggett, Jay Warren, David Smith, Nick Benton.

Niceville: Nick Haynes, Malik Williams, Matt Newton, Terrance Parsons, Trey Hock, Shi Kim Coward.

Follow Travis Downey on Twitter: @TravisDnwfdn