William Andrews was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1979 and went on to set team records.

THOMASVILLE — Former Atlanta Falcons running back William Andrews succeeded against some of the NFL’s most fearsome defenders, including Pro Football Hall of Famers Jack Lambert, Ronnie Lott, Mike Singletary and Lawrence Taylor.

There was one person who could stop the bruising runner in his tracks, however. Andrews shared a story about this formidable force during the Thomasville Bulldogs’ celebration of their 1974 national championship season on Sept. 19.

“I walked in to (head) coach (Jim) Hughes office one day and told him I was quitting (football),” Andrews recalled. “He couldn’t believe it. He said, ‘What did you say to me?’

“I said, ‘I’m quitting. I’m done.”

You can imagine Hughes’ surprise. Andrews, a sophomore at the time, was one season away from becoming the best back in the state by a wide margin.

Hughes looked to his top assistant, James Bryant, who coached Andrews in middle school, to intervene. Bryant was sitting silently in a chair near Hughes’ desk.

The coaches listened to Andrews weave a tale that he was quitting to help his mother. He said he was going to get a job at Sunnyland to help her pay bills.

Bryant remained mum.

“He did not say one word,” Andrews said. “I thought I could get a reaction out of him one time, but I couldn’t. He just sat there and looked.”

Hughes abandoned the room, leaving Bryant to encourage Andrews to reconsider his decision.

“Coach Bryant said, ‘Sit down, son,’” Andrews remembered. “He said, ‘Now what did you say?’”

Again, Andrews told him he was quitting the team.

“I didn’t tell the whole truth, though. There was an underlying lie,” Andrews explained. “My mama didn’t know I was playing football.”

Andrews had persuaded his older brother to forge his mother’s signature on the forms that allowed him to play for the Bulldogs. That forced him to work extra hard to maintain the elaborate deception.

“I used to get home in the afternoon and take the sports section out of the newspaper so Mama couldn’t read it,” Andrews said.

Andrews said Charlie Ward let the proverbial cat, or more accurately, the bulldog, out of the bag when he encountered his mother one day.

“He said, ‘Don’t you have a son named William who plays football?,” Andrews said. “She answered, ‘Yes, I have a son named William, but he don’t play no football.

“Coach Ward said, ‘Your son does play football — and he is good!”

Andrews knew he was busted when he got home that evening. He could see it in his mother’s eyes. Concerned about injuries, she let it be known in no uncertain terms that his football days were over. That’s how he ended up in Hughes’ office telling the concocted Sunnyland story.

After learning the truth, Hughes and Bryant visited Mrs. Andrews at her home. It was almost time for another game.

“Coach Bryant convinced my mom to let me play that Friday night, but the only way I could do it was if she could watch me play,” Andrews said. “She wound up sitting on the 50-yard line. She had her hands over her eyes the whole time.”

Andrews voiced his appreciation for Bryant’s career-saving efforts, calling him a “father, grandfather, coach, friend and brother to all of us.” The remark drew applause from his former teammates.

Andrews, of course, went on to start at Auburn and for the Falcons. During his first five NFL seasons (1979-83), he gained 5,772 rushing yards and caught 272 passes for 2,612 yards for an average of 116 yards from scrimmage per game. That’s more than NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith (96), Walter Payton (111) or Barry Sanders (119).

Andrews was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and appeared destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame until what Mrs. Andrews feared — a shattered knee — cut his career short.

Still, Andrews left his mark on the game. His jersey numbers at Thomasville (32) and Atlanta (31) were retired and tonight he will be inducted into the Thomasville-Thomas County Sports Hall of Fame.