Heading into his third varsity season, Rudder's Tre Hammond has seen a little bit of everything.

He's been the face of the team as its first varsity starting quarterback. He's also felt the pain that can go along with that position.

He's endured a winless season and helped the Rangers earn their first victory in a season-opener.

And he's seen enough now to know this year's team could do something special.

"Our goal is to make the playoffs," Hammond said. "This team has really grown together. We're like brothers now. We try to pick each other up and do the best we can."

Hammond started at quarterback as a sophomore on an offense that featured only freshmen and sophomores. He gutted it out all year, getting hit over and over because his offensive line was inexperienced and playing against guys two years older than them.

Hammond still started the first nine games of that season. In that ninth game against Cameron, he broke his arm in the third quarter and missed the season finale, with backup Kyle Danford starting in his place.

In 2009, Hammond moved to running back and combined with Restevin Anderson to give Rudder a formidable backfield. This season, Hammond's head is swimming a little less when he lines up in the backfield.

The senior says he feels more comfortable back there, which frees him up to make the spectacular play, like his 60-yard punt return for a touchdown last week against Taylor.

"Last year, I was just trying to figure out what to do half the time," Hammond said. "It's really helped me out a lot. I don't have to think about what to do. I can just do it."

Rudder head coach C.M. Pier says he plans to utilize Hammond's versatility more this season. Six different running backs got carries against the Ducks, but Hammond did not run the ball once. With a deeper roster, the pressure won't always fall on Hammond's shoulder to make every play.

Because of that, Pier will have the luxury of using Hammond all over the field. He still has the skills to play quarterback, and he'll also work in at receiver in some sets.

"He's a really great kid," Pier said. "He's not the biggest kid out there, but he's strong, really strong. He's also pretty fast and has got some wiggle to him. Heading into this season, my goal was to keep him at one spot so he could get comfortable. With the depth we have, he can do a lot of different things for us now and give us some different looks."

Against Taylor, Hammond caught two passes for 28 yards. He also added a 15-yard punt return to go with his 60-yarder. His 103 all-purpose yards was second only to Kyle Danford's 174 rushing yards.

Hammond also carving out a niche for himself as a leader. He says some of the JV players approach him about different things, and he helps them with their assignments on plays.

"[The team] has a lot of respect for him," Pier said. "I've known his family for years and really think highly of him. He's grown a lot in the past few years and will be a big part of this team this season."