Terrance Little rushing his way to the history books for Hazelwood East

The senior running back has become the first back-to-back 1,000 yard rusher for the Spartans since 2005-06 and is closing in a school record in his final year for Hazelwood East

Hazelwood East senior running back Terrance Little carries the ball during practice at Hazelwood East High School on October 23, 2025. / Paul Halfacre

HAZELWOOD, Mo. - Bobby Cole knew he had something special in his backfield three years ago.
He was just like any other underclassman, but the Hazelwood East coach knew he had something special in Terrance Little.

Only a broken arm has slowed Bobby Cole

Then, a broken arm sidelined the then-sophomore.

That has been the only thing that has been able to slow down the 5-foot-7 beast in the backfield.

"He put the work in to get back," Cole said. "He did the rehab and, most importantly, came to the weight room and ran track with us. Track really helped his speed and explosion. He's probably one of our strongest kids, pound for pound, especially on the squat rack. That all combined to help put in this explosive compact running back."

Back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons is a school first

Earlier this year, Little became the first Hazelwood East running back to register back-to-back 1,000 rushing yards seasons since Thomas Merriweather achieved the same feat from 2005-06.

Closing in on a 30-year old record

Now, the punishing bruiser is within striking distance of a record that has stood for 30 years for the Spartans.

He currently sits at 1,465 rushing yards through the first eight games of the season. Ricardo Rhodes holds the single-season rushing crown with 1,808 set in 1995.

Not bad for a running back who started playing football as a freshman.

"I wanted to play my whole life since I was a kid, but my mom kept telling me no," Little said. "I finally got to high school, and my dad said Go ahead and let him play. She was scared that I'd get injured and when I did, she really didn't want me to play then."

Learning on and off the field

That broken arm in his sophomore campaign has been the only injury the explosive Little has dealt with. But he didn't sit on his laurels while he was injured. Being relatively new to football, he soaked in everything he could behind senior Jaquez Everett.

"It showed me how hard I have to work," Little said. "When he (Everett) was ahead of me, I was thinking I could play, but I just started playing as a freshman, and I didn't know much about the game. Sitting back, I learned a lot from the game."

Mastering the art of setting up blocks

One of the things he learned was how to wait and set up his blockers rather than relying on his pure speed.

"He's learned to be more patient, and once in the open field, he has that ability to break tackles," Cole said. "He can break tackles in a way that you only see every few years. Every once in a while, you wonder how he stepped out of that tackle."

Offering a different style from his mentor

While he learned a lot from Everett, the two runners have a vastly different style as the dive back in Cole's vaunted triple option attack.

"(Everett) was a big guy, a big bruiser, and Terrance is the polar opposite," Cole said. "He was more compact and I'd argue that he's just as strong and explosive. It was an adjustment, but we knew who we had to get the ball to."

Cole joked that if the quarterback's read gets muddied by the defense, the default is to hand it off to Little.

Little, who has taken on a new role as helping out on scout team defense and offense, laughs when he sees a dive back his side behind the offensive line.

"Sometimes, when I look, when people my height play dive back, it's like, 'Wow, you can't really see them,'" Little said. "I'm glad I'm not playing defense."

Though Rhodes' record is within his sights, Little is more concerned with Parkway West (7-1) on Friday and making as deep a postseason run with Hazelwood East (6-2) as he can before he hangs up the gold and crimson.