Ron Counter remembers the first time he knew Santana Scott was going to be special.

“It was during an eighth-grade game when he was at McDonald junior high,” Counter said. “I saw him make this play and I just shook my head and said wow.”

Scott worked his way up once he got to Morton Ranch and saw limited time with the varsity last season, playing in three games and carrying the ball 23 times for 93 yards and a touchdown in his sophomore campaign.

Coming into this year, Scott wanted to make a name for himself and has done just that in a breakout season.

Scott put up good numbers in his first three games of the season, but it was against Lake Creek where he truly broke out.

The junior accounted for 472 all-purpose yards, 239 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a narrow 41-40 loss for the Mavericks.

“My offensive line helped me a lot in that game,” Scott said. “They did their job and opened up holes and I was able to follow their blocks. Then my quarterback (Josh Johnson) was able to put the ball in the right spots and do good things at critical times and he really set me up to score. Even though we didn’t win, having a game like that for the offense was really big for us.”

That game helped garner Scott some big accolades, as he was named The Class 6A Ford Tough Player of the Week, the HTown High School Sports Exclusive Athlete of the week and the Channel 26 Gallery Furniture player of the week.

“It was actually really amazing to get those awards,” Scott said. “I knew I had a big game, but I didn’t expect to get selected for awards and things like that, so when it happened, it was a shock.”

Scott didn’t let the big game get to him either, as he followed it up with 168 yards and three more touchdowns in a win over Taylor in Morton Ranch’s District 19-6A opener.

The win was huge for the Mavericks as it gives them a strong start to district play and moves them closer to a playoff spot.

“I’ve known that I’m able to play like this, I put in the work and I know what it takes,” Scott said. “It was just a matter of time until we were able to showcase it and come together as an offense.”

Scott believes that the success as an offensive unit has helped motivate the entire team as they try to make a playoff run in an extremely tough district.

“It motivates everyone,” Scott said. “Everybody was able to contribute whether it was offense, defense or special teams. Everyone did their part and it was just a big step for the whole team.”

Counter always knew that Scott was capable of these types of games and is just happy to be his coach.

“He’s tiny, but you can’t underestimate him, he’s just phenomenal,” Counter said. “He’s been making plays like that, he’s just making more of them now and it’s because he’s about as tough of a kid as I’ve ever coached. He’s 5 feet 5 inches and 155 pounds, but he has a big heart, he doesn’t like to be tackled. He’s just a great young man and he has a 4.3 GPA as well, he’s a great student athlete.”