The unknown can be a frightening place in which to travel, especially in football.

The altering of rosters from one year to the next along with coaching changes can be unsettling experiences to both veterans and rookies.

Except, that is, unless you’re Central Christian Academy running back Eric Curtis.

In just his second season at CCA, Curtis has dealt with several changes around him. From a new coach to a practically brand new offensive line, Curtis has faced his share of challenges this season. Despite all that, however, the sophomore is one reason why the Warriors are preparing for the postseason.

The changes at Central began in the preseason with the departure of former coach John Niblett to Concordia College and the promotion of assistant coach Dayton Dawkins to head coach.

From there, the Warriors pieced together a new offensive line disassembled by the graduation of several starters.

“I heard a lot from my teammates before the season, telling me that I’m going to get eaten up in the backfield,” Curtis said. “We kind of doubted ourselves just a little bit.”

Although Central Christian has gone through such changes, Curtis still has flourished. In the six games he has played this season, Curtis has rushed for more than 600 yards. He credits his strong output on the work of his new coach and his teammates.

“At first I thought coach Dawkins was going to be real mean,” he said. “The way he fusses at you and points out stuff on film. But he does it because he loves us. He’s been a great coach. He always tells you what’s right.

“I believe in my team,” Curtis added. “Tee (quarterback Woods) has helped me a whole lot. He’s a good football player. I’ve gotten some great blocking from the offensive line. They’ve put a lot of effort into that this year.”

The Warriors are indeed feeling confident this week following a 22-21 comeback victory over Cornerstone Academy last Friday night in which CCA came back from a 21-7 halftime deficit. In that game, Woods connected with Curtis on a 40-yard scoring pass to bring the Warriors to within 21-14.

After fullback Simuel Walker’s touchdown got the Warriors to within 21-20, Curtis ran in the two-point conversion to put Central Christian ahead for good.

Dawkins, in his first year as Warriors’ head coach, said Curtis has the tools to be a solid running back.

“Eric definitely has a lot of God-given ability,” Dawkins said. “Eric isn’t the type to go around boasting or bragging. He takes it all in stride. He’s as good as he wants to be.”

Dawkins added that Curtis’ success hasn’t simply come from out of the blue.

“Earlier in the year,” he said, “Eric was doing so good. We put him under the heat and he responded. He doesn’t run like a sophomore. He looks more like a junior or senior.”

Curtis said he models himself after Auburn senior running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams in that he likes running over people. He also credited his father, who lives in Tennessee, in helping to keep him motivated.

“My dad takes me to the University of Tennessee during the summer to watch their summer workouts,” he said. “I think I can get a whole lot better. I just enjoy what I do – running the football.”

Curtis exudes faith in his ability to find the end zone. He hopes his teammates show that same confidence heading into the postseason. In fact, Curtis looks forward to a possible rematch against a certain regular-season opponent.

“A lot of guys are kind of nervous going into the playoffs,” Curtis said. “They want the ring like everyone wants the ring.

“I hope we play Shelby again,” Curtis added. “They came in here this year and our team was nervous. They whooped us pretty good last year and a lot of guys thought they would beat us bad again.”

In fact, the Warriors’ ground game was stymied in a 22-0 loss to Shelby in Week 3. Curtis, however, said the next time might just be different.

“Coach Dawkins told us we could whoop them,” he said. “A lot of the guys were like, ‘I don’t know about that, coach.’ But you’ve got to have faith. We learned from that game. All we’ve got to do is put our minds to winning the game. If we do that, we’ll win next time.”