ST. MARTINVILLE — Markavon “Black” Williams seeks out contact.

The St. Martinville High School dual-threat senior quarterback is compact in size as Williams stands only 5-foot-9 tall and weighs 168 pounds. That doesn’t prevent Williams, though, from looking out to put a lick on an opponent when the Tigers play under the lights on Fridays.

“Last year I would try to juke too much,” Williams said. “This year I make sure to run downhill and drop my shoulder. I love making contact with that linebacker or defensive back.”

That chip-on-his-shoulder approach has helped Williams become one of the unquestioned leaders for the No. 9-ranked team in Class 4A, and has helped St. Martinville to an undefeated record and its best start since 2006.

St. Martinville (5-0) opens District 5-4A play at Livonia (5-0) this Friday.

Williams’ head coach, though, would much rather have his star signal caller take a few more slides than laying big hits.

“He has that mentality,” St. Martinville’s fourth-year head coach Vincent DeRouen said. “He is a dynamic player but we are trying to stop him from doing that because we need him for a long run.

“He kind of looks for contact and always has been that way,” laughed DeRouen. “We don’t let the defense hit him practice but he still searches for contact during the game. He is a tough kid and is hard nosed which we love but we need him to stay healthy.”

Williams has grown both as an impact player, and as a leader, since he first started for the Tigers as a defensive back as a freshman. After being inserted as the starting quarterback halfway through his sophomore season, he took strides last year, earning first-team all-district honors at athlete.

Williams, though, still needed improvement when it came to his throwing mechanics. 

“For him it comes down to his mechanics,” DeRouen said. “He gets overhyped sometimes and the ball goes into the ground. We just want him to slow down and control the game. Take his time with his throws. He has a good arm but it is when he tries to rush it that he makes those bad throws.”

So Williams went to work this past summer to develop more as a passer and improve his footwork in the pocket.

“This summer I had a lot help from my coaches,” Williams said. “I came out here and just threw a lot. The biggest thing I had to work on was my throwing mechanics. You know last year I threw a lot of balls into the ground. I have been working on keeping my arm up.

“Taking part in the 7-on-7 this summer really help me a lot too,” Williams said. “It taught me how to be patient and let things develop and that has carried on into the season.”

The progression has been noticeable on the field this season.

Williams has helped SMHS average 40.6 points per game and he has become a true threat in both the running and passing games. In the season-opening 38-21 victory over New Iberia Senior High, Williams rushed for nearly 100 yards and had two touchdowns, but also was 4-for-4 for 78 yards through the air. 

The following week against Lafayette High, Williams racked up 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns but also threw an 80-yard touchdown pass. 

“Every game I push for more,” said Williams, who was clocked running a 4.5 40-yard dash at the UL Monroe camp this past summer. “I want to be better than I was last week. For me, I think I am doing pretty good but I could be doing a whole lot better. I feel like I could have a far bigger impact on this team.”

A place where he has had a large impact has been the more vocal leadership he has provided this season for the Tigers.

“I challenged him to become more of a leader,” DeRouen said. “We expect our quarterback to be a leader. With him, he always led by example and really didn’t say much. This season he has become more of a vocal leader and he has grown into that role and it has helped our team.”

That leadership comes through when Williams is asked about what the mindset is of the team that is now ranked in The Top 10.

“We taking it as we are 0-0 right now,” Williams said. 

“We got the mindset that we are restarting our season starting with this week. We have had a good season so far but the season isn’t over yet and we don’t plan it ending anytime soon and that means we got work to do.”