DRUMMOND, YURA LEAD KENNEDY RACE
Publication:
Published: 10/23/1997
Page: P2B
Headline: DRUMMOND, YURA LEAD KENNEDY RACE
Byline: TOM ALUISE
FOR the second straight year, an underclassman could make a run at the
Kennedy Award.
Last season, Nitro
quarterback J.R. House became the first sophomore
ever to win the award, presented annually to the state's top prep
football player.
House opted to play the
first half of this season in
although he's on his way to another superb year for the Wildcats, it's
unlikely he'll receive the voting support statewide to win a second
straight Kennedy Award.
That's where Morgantown High
junior tailback Chris Yura comes in. Yura
appears to be the one player who'll challenge Kennedy frontrunner Ed
Drummond of
Here's a quick look at 10
players (in no particular order) who'll
likely show up on a Kennedy ballot near you:
- Ed Drummond, Linsly School, 5-11, 175 senior tailback - Drummond
rushed for over 200 yards in Linsly's only game
against a West
Virginia school, a loss to Class AA power Man. On the season he has
903 yards on 103 carries (8.8 per rush) and 15 TDs
for the 7-1 Cadets.
Against
TDs, plus a punt return for a TD that was called
back. This season,
Drummond has had three TD kick returns called back.
- Chris Yura,
Morgantown, 6-1, 180 junior tailback - Yura has
rushed
for 1,299 yards on 120 carries (10.8 per run) and has scored 23 TDs,
despite sitting out the second half in several of the 7-0 and
top-ranked Mohigan routs. Yura,
who also starts at linebacker, rushed
for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore.
- Todd Anderson,
gobbled up 121 passes for 2,162 yards and 25 TDs in his career. This
year, he has 27 receptions for 537 yards and eight scores.
also has six interceptions for the 6-1 Huskies.
- Quincy Wilson, Weir,
5-11, 195 junior tailback - You might know
carries (6.9 per carry) with 23 TDs for the 6-2 Red
Raiders. He burned
Oak Glen for 324 yards earlier this season.
- Will Fisher, Moorefield,
6-5, 200 senior quarterback - Marshall has
already offered a scholarship to this talented passer.
89-of-141 for 1,362 yards and 20 TDs this season for
the 7-1 Yellow
Jackets. For his career he is 293-of-521 for 4,428 yards and 51 TDs.
- Tremain
Straughter, DuPont, 5-10, 180 junior tailback - The talented
Straughter will move near the top of the list next
season. Of course,
he's not exactly having a bad 1997 with 1,213 yards on 156 carries
(7.8 per rush) for the 7-1 Panthers. Straughter has
scored 18 TDs and
is averaging 15.8 yards per punt return and 35.2 for five kickoff
returns.
- Ben Poe, Cabell Midland,
6-0, 170 senior tailback - The only Poe
getting more ink at Cabell Midland these days is Edgar Allan. Poe has
rushed for 1,391 yards on 124 carries. That's 11.2 yards per rush.
He's scored 20 TDs. In his last three games for the
6-1 Knights, Poe
has exploded for 239, 247 and 264 yards.
- Clyde Tyler, Capital,
5-10, 170 senior tailback - Tyler likes
running out of the I-formation better than the wing-T and it's
showing. He's carried 92 times for 910 yards (9.9 per carry) and 12
TDs for the 6-1 Cougars. He had 257 yards against
last week.
- Travis Lynch,
seems to produce good offensive players who normally get overlooked by
the rest of the state. This year's candidate is Lynch, who's run for
over 300 yards in games twice this season. Through six games, Lynch
had 1,317 yards and 22 TDs for the 6-1 Falcons. In a
win over
- J.R. House, Nitro, 6-1, 185 junior quarterback - Last year's Kennedy
winner will put up quality numbers again but won't get as many votes
because of his defection to
back, House has already thrown 13 TD passes and piled up 1,062 yards
through the air.