FANTASTIC FIFTEEN: Dougherty’s Jacob Stallworth, at full strength, ready to make impact

Editor’s note: This is the 14th installment of a series highlighting some of the top high school football players in Albany and Lee County. In the past, it has been the “Dynamite Dozen” but this season it will be the “Fantastic Fifteen.”

ALBANY — An injury late in the season kept running back Jacob Stallworth out of the playoff run and the early parts of basketball season, but the senior is back at full strength now and hoping to be a part of another strong football season for the Dougherty Trojans.

Stallworth is a senior, three-sport athlete at Dougherty. On the football team, he starts at running back on offense and at defensive back on defense. He is also a starting guard for the basketball team and works out with the track and field team as well.

Stallworth carried the ball 89 times last season and rushed for 834 yards and scored seven touchdowns as the Trojans rolled to a 10-3 season and the state quarterfinals. He also caught five passes, including one touchdown pass. But none of that provided Stallworth’s favorite moment.

“I remember, in the Westover game, I got a big block for a big run,” he said. “It was a big play and that got me in the zone.”

Stallworth, the son of Rhonda Knighton, got his start in football when he was 10 years old after a basketball coach told him he should try football. His favorite professional football player is Jamal Adams, a safety for the Seattle Seahawks. He said he admires Adams because of his approach to the game.

“Jacob is a great team player,” said Dougherty head coach Johnny Gilbert. “He is one of our leaders and he is very vocal toward his teammates in getting to motivate them. Jacob gives it all on every single play. You never see him slack off. He is always ready to go. And when he messes up, he’s down to the push ups and working to fix it.”

Stallworth has not decided where he is going after high school and is still hoping to create opportunities as the school year goes along.

“I want to go out and get mine,” said Stallworth. “I’ve got a lot of things I still want to accomplish. Then I will make some decisions about what is next.”

Joe Whitfield