He Carries the Ball, Tradition at Nogales : Preps: Lawrence Lanham is latest in line of notable running backs to play for the Nobles.

Every time Lawrence Lanham carries the football for Nogales High, he feels like he is continuing a Noble tradition.

Darryl Lewis of the Houston Oilers, Daryl Green of the University of Hawaii and Tyrone Edwards of California preceded Lanham in the Nogales backfield. All left their marks as some of the best players the San Gabriel Valley has produced in the past six years.

“I’m honored to be a running back here because of all the people that came before me,” Lanham says. “My only goal is to give our school something to be proud about.”

A 5-foot-9, 178-pound senior, Lanham has done that this season. Despite missing more than half of a game with a bruised hand, he has rushed for 615 yards and eight touchdowns in 93 carries, helping lead the defending Sierra League champions to a 5-0-1 record.

And like Edwards, who nurtured and pushed him to a 900-yard season last year, Lanham is the role model for another talented runner, junior Lamonte Adams.

“I hope I’m setting an example for him for next year so he can help everybody else along and continue the tradition,” Lanham said. “He’s a great one now and he’s going to get better.”

Indeed, the 5-10 and 162-pound Adams might have as much physical talent as any of the Nogales backs that have come before him. He is the Sierra League’s leading rusher with 676 yards in 80 carries. He also has eight touchdowns.

“I really looked up to Tyrone and Lawrence,” said Adams, who was a reserve on the varsity last season as a sophomore. “I figured if I could be better than them, then I could be better than anybody. They inspired me.”

Now, Lanham says, the two backs motivate each other.

Running out of a split-back set that affords them almost equal opportunities to carry the ball, the runners give Nogales one of the most productive combinations in the Southern Section.

“It’s like being out there with your brother or best friend,” Lanham said. “If they call my play and Lamonte has to block, he says, ‘Just run, I’m going to get him.’

“If I score, he feels happy for me. But he wants to go out there and say, ‘If you’re going to score, I’m going to score, too.’ We push off each other’s performance.”

While Lanham describes himself as a “straight-ahead speed guy.” Adams calls himself a “juker.”

Individually, they are difficult to contain. As a package, they are almost unstoppable.

“They’re both in the same category with Tyrone Edwards (who gained 1,275 yards last season),” said Scott Smith, coach at Hacienda Heights Wilson. “Once they break into the open, they’re gone.

“They’re not just outside, sweep-type runners either. They can run inside.

“With some backs, you hit them and hit them and hit them and they quit running. That’s not going to happen with those two kids.”

The Nogales backfield was broken up temporarily two weeks ago when Lanham injured his hand in the first half against Rowland. The team doctor initially told Beveridge and Lanham that the hand was broken, but further tests revealed only a deep bruise.

Nevertheless, the experience stung Lanham.

“I felt like my season was going to be over and all the work I had done was down the drain,” he said. “I just told Lamonte, ‘You have to pick up the slack.’ ”

Adams responded with 166 yards against Rowland.

Last week against Wilson, it was Lanham’s turn to take the spotlight. He rushed for 154 yards in 20 carries and scored two touchdowns as the Nobles beat Wilson, 35-12.

“Lawrence is motivated,” Nogales Coach Brian Beveridge said. “He’s being looked at by some colleges and I think he really wants to do something beyond high school. He’s a senior and he has confidence. It shows in his running.”

Both Lanham and Adams are hoping for a chance to show their skills in the final round of the Division IV playoffs.

Last season, Nogales was 10-0 before it lost to eventual division champion Arlington, 14-7, in the quarterfinals.

After being tied by Claremont in its opener this season, Nogales has defeated Arroyo, Ganesha, Rowland, Baldwin Park and Wilson. Lanham said the Nobles can win the divisional championship this season.

“We’re hungrier this year,” he said. “We had a lot of juniors and sophomores last year so those players have already been there in the playoffs.

“We know what it takes to get there and what it takes to get farther than that.”