High school football: J.R. Bires' big game a big reason Amherst pulled off second-half rally in season opener

Amherst knew exactly how to wash away a sloppy first half. The Comets trailed Copley by five at halftime in last week's season opener, turning the ball over three times in the process. So they decided to go back to basics — run the ball early, run the ball often. That meant giving the ball to senior running back J.R. Bires — a lot. And he definitely didn't disappoint, piling up 213 yards for the game on 35 carries. He also had a 3-yard touchdown to help close out a 34-18 win that helped the Comets get off to a 1-0 start for the second straight year. "The adrenaline definitely got me going," Bires said. "I was going carry after carry. Our offensive line was playing with some crazy intensity. It was exciting to see. They built me up, and we built each other up and we just pounded the ball." Quarterback Cole Norris also had a big game, rushing for 163 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns while also throwing for another, but Bires was the spark on every drive, breaking a number of runs of more than 10 yards, highlighted by a 29-yard carry. Amherst coach Tom Thome likes that Bires, a strong, compact back, keeps getting better as the game goes on. "He's in phenomenal shape and our offensive line prevented him from taking a beating," Thome said. "It wasn't like last year where he was getting hit at the line of scrimmage and his power was getting him 2 to 3 yards. He had holes, and he was getting big-chunk plays. That's credit to the offensive line." Bires had an unfortunate setback last season. He played every game, but wasn't 100 percent after injuring his ankle during a 17-7 win in Week 4 against Midview. While he still led the team in rushing with 715 yards, while scoring five touchdowns and fumbling just twice in 149 carries, his role diminished in the second half of the season as his injury lingered. Not coincidentally, the Comets lost their last six games and struggled to run the ball during that span. "He's kind of the forgotten guy," Thome said. "J.R. really is that true focal point of our offense. Yes, we go as far as Cole leads us, but J.R. is really the one who, if he's going, good things happen for us." And Bires doesn't just run the ball, he helps his teammates, too. Thome said Bires was the lead blocker on a number of Norris' carries, including his touchdown runs of 23, 8 and 23 yards, pushing Amherst's fourth-quarter lead to 28-18. Bires added his touchdown with 8:28 left, effectively putting the game away. "I would want them to do it for me," Bires said. "I love when people block for me, so I'm going to do it just as good as anyone else would for me." Bires added that he worked on his agility and speed in the offseason, adding to his cuts so he could attack the line faster and break away from defenders. He also spent the summer working with five new starters on the offensive line. So far that hard work has paid off with a big game and another streak-breaking win to start the season. "It feels good," Bires said. "Last year we broke that losing streak and this year we went in with that same mentality. We went down at halftime, but we were calm and collected. We were only down by five, we were still in it. We came out and just took over." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.