Running back Hayes a huge part of Chatham's success

Back in September, members of the Chatham High School football team promised to not only be competitive this season, but a threat to win some games.

The Cougars classmates rolled their eyes skyward.

They'd heard that tune before, only to have the Cougars season fall flat.

"People in school would say, 'You guys always say you're gonna be good,'" senior Justin Hayes said.

This time, the players were right.

Chatham is headed to the North 2 Group III championship game against Cranford at Kean University Friday night at 7 p.m.

Hayes is one of the main reasons why the Cougars have exceeded all expectations.

The senior speedster has rushed for 701 yards on only 75 carries (9.3 per carry) and has scored five touchdowns.

Put the lightning-quick Hayes in many other backfields in Morris County, and he'd easily eclipse the 1,000-yard mark.

"He's just such a great athlete," coach Jason Isza said. "We spread the ball around to a lot of different people, so his stats don't do him justice. I can tell you that every time he touches the ball, something positive happens."

That was the case during his sophomore year against Randolph. The Cougars wound up losing 35-6 on the way to an 0-10 season, but Hayes scored an eye-opening touchdown. He caught a pass near the line of scrimmage and went 47 yards for a touchdown. And that was after an 11-yard run on the previous play.

"My first varsity touchdown," Hayes said. "It was awesome."

The entire coaching staff took note.

"We watched that run and we thought, 'Holy cow, by the time he is a senior, he'll be fantastic,'" Isza said. "He went right, then left, he spun and made some guys miss. We're all thinking, 'This kid is special.'"

He still is.

In a 24-17 victory over Parsippany Hills that qualified Chatham for its first postseason berth since 2011, Hayes had the go-ahead 39-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that put the Cougars ahead for good. In what was arguably the team's biggest regular-season victory this year, Hayes was 11 for 139 rushing.

"He does fantastic things," Isza said. "We just tell the linemen to block one way so he can go the other way."

Hayes particularly loves running behind the pulling of seniors Nick Zack and Michael Kellstrom.

"The whole line is awesome," he said. "I really love those guys. I especially love running behind Zack. He's like a big meatball who doesn't ever slow down."

Hayes hopes to continue on to the next level. HIs five college choices are Richmond, Hamilton, Tufts, James Madison, and Elon. He has not ruled out the possibility of playing lacrosse in college, but football is his No. 1 choice.

Hayes doesn't want to get ahead of himself. The Cranford game will be the biggest game of his life.

"This year has been awesome," he said. "Teachers come up and congratulate us. Teachers I have had in previous years have congratulated me. Everyone is on board."

Even those classmates who didn't believe Chatham had what it took this year.

"This time, we've shown everyone what we're made of," Hayes said.