If for no other reason, the Syracuse football team needed it to make a season’s worth of shame and futility disappear — even for just one blissful Saturday. So, yard by yard, handoff by handoff, Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes imposed their will on Virginia Tech’s defense, making the Big East’s most notorious gang of bullies wilt.

The end result of the running backs’ Nov. 9 effort? Thirty-eight carries, 185 yards and one 50-42 triple-overtime win.

Now, Reyes and Rhodes have the opportunity to accomplish what they did on that memorable day for all of next season. Together, they may hold the key to erasing last season’s 4-8 disaster, not just temporarily, but for good. But before setting out to conquer opposing defenses together next fall, Reyes and Rhodes will compete against one another for the starting spot this spring.

‘We’re competing because we’re competitors, and we want to play,’ said Rhodes, a sophomore. ‘We want to get the spot. But off the field, we’re still boys. We hang out a lot, talk. So we want each other to do the best they can do. But we’re also out there competing to the best of our ability.’

While spring practice is still in its early stages, Reyes, a junior, has a slim upper hand. Reyes quietly rang up 1,135 yards, rushing for 6.2 yards per carry and bullying his way to a school-record 17 rushing touchdowns.

Reyes came into this spring at a chiseled 5 feet, 10 inches, 205 pounds and with an dissatisfied attitude.

‘I want to get better every year,’ Reyes said. ‘Me, as a person, I want to triple what I did last year on my performance.’

To beat out Rhodes, Reyes may have to. After one of the best freshman rushing seasons in SU history, the shifty Rhodes now feels more comfortable, though Reyes still clearly holds the upper hand at the position.

‘In terms of offense, I’ve grown into it,’ Rhodes said. ‘As a player, I’ve grown doing stuff with the ball and without it. I know the holes better, and I’m a little more confident in my ability.’

Rhodes showed his maturity in practice earlier this week. After fumbling one play and receiving a requisite tongue-lashing, Rhodes ripped off a 20-yard gain the next down, displaying his explosive cutting ability.

Rhodes, who rushed for 568 yards and seven touchdowns last season, should be more durable after adding 11 pounds of muscle this offseason.

Choosing between Reyes and Rhodes will prove to be a pleasant dilemma for head coach Paul Pasqualoni. With two experienced and capable backs, the tailback position is SU’s strength.

‘It’s a friendly battle,’ Reyes said. ‘But we’re good friends. We are battling for the same position, but you can’t really get caught up in wanting to fight each other.’

It’s a good thing they remain close, because the running back competition will likely end in a draw. Last season, the pair rotated at tailback, and barring a major setback or freakish improvement by either back, that will continue.

‘I can probably see (a rotation),’ Reyes said. ‘I don’t think that will change in 2003.’

‘We’ll play two,’ head coach Paul Pasqualoni said. ‘We’ll play three if we have three.’

The strategy of musical tailbacks can torture on a defense, evidenced by the Virginia Tech game. After Reyes smashed his way through Tech’s defense, the Hokies became exhausted and couldn’t catch the quicksilver Rhodes.

‘The defense and linebackers start to get tired when you have fresh people that keep on running out there,’ Rhodes said. ‘They don’t last so long. Against Virginia Tech especially, it came in handy. They were tired, because they were on the field about 100 plays. When I came in, I got to keep on going at them. It pays off when you got two backs going.’

Published on April 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm