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September 2, 2010
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Pemberton is an anomaly
Published October 21, 2009
I’d heard and read about an unnatural phenomenon occurring at a local high school this season. So last Friday night, I snuck across the county line to see first-hand if there were any truth to the rumors.
Now I’ve seen it with my own eyes — and it’s nothing short of amazing. Ean Pemberton is an anomaly. Football is a game of overwhelming size and brute strength. It’s certainly no place for a 5-foot, 4-inch, 140-pound kid. But for the past three seasons at Grayson High School, a little child — at least in football terms — has led the Rams to unprecedented heights.
Since Grayson opened its doors in 2000 until 2006, the Rams football team never won more than eight games. But since Pemberton became the go-to guy at the start of the 2007 season, the Rams have won 31 of 35 games and have become not just a state but a national power.
Grayson is ranked second in the state in Class AAAAA, and at least one national poll placed them sixth in the nation.
A smothering defense gets at least some of the credit. The Rams recorded their fourth shutout in a 37-0 win over Berkmar last week and they are surrendering just eight points a game.
But the undersized back with the oversized statistics is the driving force of Gwinnett County’s latest emerging state powerhouse.
In less than three full seasons, Pemberton has amassed more than 4,000 yards rushing. And he’s not done it in a spread offense or some other gimmicky scheme designed to isolate him in the open field.
The Rams run the Wing-T and pack their lineman so tight that the offensive front looks like a massive side of beef. Out of this formation, Pemberton has swept, dived, countered and reversed his way into setting nearly every record.
Pemberton is drawing little interest from college recruiters. Ironically, his diminutive stature blocks their view of his impressive accomplishments. But some school will take a chance on him and he’ll continue to defy the odds at the next level.
If you don’t get a chance to see him in person, you might catch him on TV later this year holding the state championship trophy. He won’t be standing tall, but his team will be the last one standing.
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