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Five games.
Seven hundred three rushing yards.
Fourteen touchdowns.
Astounding numbers for any high school running back.
But in the case of Cape Henlopen's Elijah Worthy, those statistics are even more impressive when you consider that three times he has sat out the second half of a game in which the Vikings had a huge lead. If you take into account his time on the bench, Worthy has been on the field the equivalent of just three and a half games.
His eye-popping exploits are a major reason why Cape has opened the season 4-1 and outscored its last four opponents by a combined 154-8. The senior running back is well on his way to exceeding the 936 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns he posted last year.
"I think he's as good a back as you're going to see in the state," Cape coach Brian Donahue said. "He's going to give us everything he has. The offensive line is doing a great job blocking, his fullbacks are doing a great job blocking."
For the soft-spoken Worthy, motivation comes from the desire to gain 1,000 yards this season and lead the Vikings to a second straight Henlopen North title.
"I've got more expectations for myself and my team this year," he said.
After rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown in Cape's season-opening 7-6 loss at St. Mark's, Worthy gained at least 100 yards and scored three touchdowns in each of the next three games. Against Sussex Tech Friday night, he had 174 yards and four touchdowns -- two rushing and two receiving.
While he's been finding the end zone with astonishing regularity and is on a pace to score more than 20 touchdowns, Worthy can't pinpoint a reason for his scoring proficiency.
"It's just happened," he said. "The (offensive) line is opening up huge holes. The line is doing good."
Said Donahue: "This year, he's finding that second gear when he gets into the secondary."
Last season, the Vikings won the Northern Division title with a 9-1 regular-season record and earned the school's first state tournament berth in 13 years. In the state semifinals, however, Cape was beaten by eventual state champion Newark 21-0.
In that game, Worthy was held to just nine yards on 11 carries. The memory of that defeat is a driving force for him and the team's other seniors.
"It was more of a learning experience. That was a good, tough defense," Worthy said of the semifinal defeat. "None of us enjoyed the loss. I came in (this season) determined to do better."
Worthy has become the feature back this season after splitting time in a three-back rotation with departed seniors Carl Floyd and Dashon James in 1997. He has gladly accepted the increased workload and also starts at cornerback on defense.
His lead-by-example style has been a positive influence on the team, Donahue said.
"The thing he's doing this year is picking up the leadership," he said. "He's a senior and he's picked up the load for us."
His value to the team will be most important in the second half of the season, when the Vikings face Northern Division foes Seaford, Caesar Rodney and Dover. Bayside Conference opponent Snow Hill, a Maryland playoff team last year, is also on the schedule.
"We'll know in the second part of the season," Donahue said. "That's when it's going to count. Hopefully, he'll stay injury-free."
And Worthy is not about to shy away from a workload that has him carrying the ball 15 to 20 times a game. "I can deal with it," he said matter-of-factly.
But he is also aware that Cape's only loss this season was to a tough upstate opponent, the type of team the Vikings could meet in the state tournament.
"We don't overlook any team," he said. "We should have done better in the St. Mark's game, though."
If Worthy keeps putting up gaudy rushing numbers and the Vikings keep winning, they may get the chance.
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