If
Carver (New Orleans, La.) almost literally came "off the bus throwing the ball" as Coach Bryon Addison had wanted, than senior wide receiver
Raheem Falkins must have been catching passes on the vehicle as it rolled to the Rams' first-round playoff game at South Plaquemines last week.
Raheem Falkins, Carver
Courtesy photo
That's as good an explanation as any to explain Falkins' performance in Carver's 36-12 victory over South Plaquemines that atoned for a 36-34 District 9-2A regular-season loss to the same team two weeks earlier.
In the playoff game's first 14 minutes, Falkins caught four passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in not only make short work of South Plaquemines but bringing a smile to the faces of Alabama fans giddy over Falkins' commitment to the Crimson Tide.
Falkins' showing also earned him selection as the New Orleans Capital One Bank High Yield Student Athlete of the Week and advanced Carver to the second round against Catholic of New Iberia on Friday.
"He's real humble," Addison said of Falkins. "Wide receivers are known to want the ball all the time. "This kid is just the opposite. He wants the young guys to have the ball. That's what I like about him."
Falkins figured into three of Carver's first five scores. After running back Eugene Brazley produced the game's first points on a 1-yard touchdown run, Falkins caught a two-point conversion pass.
Falkins followed that with a 99-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Joey Louis. Carver notched a safety in between that and Falkins' next touchdown catch, which covered 37 yards.
Falkins didn't have another catch the rest of the game, which is indicative of how he's been used this season and also a testament to the talent on Carver's roster. Brazley, an Ole Miss commitment, scored on a two-point conversion run after Falkins' 99-yard catch and run.
"He's a very unselfish kid," Addison said. "I know he could have had impressive numbers, but he's willing to let others do whatever is working best for us."
In this case, throwing to Falkins early and often made the difference.
After having "broken down film" from Carver's first game against South Plaquemines, Addison said "the plan was to come out throwing the ball. It just happened to be that Raheem was the guy who popped open."
Carver exploited the South Plaquemines defense just as it had in the fourth-quarter of their regular-season game in case of too little, too late. Despite a 22-point final-period explosion, Carver couldn't catch the Hurricanes.
Falkins made certain the Rams didn't dig themselves into a deep hole again, as he made to critical third-down catches on the Rams' first drive. He came up with an 8-yard grab that gave Carver a new set of downs and later hauled in a 54-yard pass that put Carver on the 1-yard line. Brazley scored two plays later.
Addison said Falkins' reaps dividends from his hard work of practice during the week.
"He has a good attitude about him," Addison said. "He's very detailed oriented. He takes pride in his craft."
