MADISON, Fla. (WTXL) — Some players have the gaudy stats, the touchdowns, the rushing yards. Others players are the ones who help them get it. Madison County's Rhett Rutherford is the latter, and there's no other role he'd like to be in.
Tough, dependable, and unselfish and words all used to describe Madison County senior Rutherford.
"His work ethic. His drive, never complains, doesn't care if he ever catches a pass," said head coach Mike Coe. "He just wants to win. He's one of the greatest teammates we've had here."
Rutherford is a great teammate that looks to lead the Cowboys to a state championship this weekend.
"One more game," he said. "We treat it like the next. One last game for me, my senior year, to close it out."
For Rutherford, it's never been about the numbers.
"I don't care what I have to do as long as we're winning," said Rutherford. "As long as I'm getting my job done, that's all that matters."
"He is so unselfish. He always has been. Never missed a workout," added Coe. "These kids have so much respect for him, just how tough he is. He's a tough sucker."
Respect from his work on the field, and in the classroom. As a dual-enrolled student, Rutherford has a 4.0 GPA.
"It's just what I expect from myself and what I want to do," he said. "Self-motivation to keep on pushing and to do the things I want to do, school comes first."
"I tell our younger kids all the time, just emulate that guy," said Coe. "He doesn't do it wrong. He does everything the right way and if you had a team full of them, you'd always play for a state title."
A chance they have Saturday night, as Rutherford and the Cowboys look to bring home another state title to Boot Hill.
"I wouldn't want to play or go to any other school. Madison County is my home, it always has been and it always will be."
A home he looks to represent this weekend. Rutherford does play catcher on the Cowboys baseball team. He said he'd like to play either sport at the next level, and wherever he ends up, he wants to study business. The Cowboys face Hawthorne Saturday night in the Class 1A state title game. Kick-off is at 7 p.m. from Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee.
