Aden Bolden, Small School All-State Athlete, is our Protein-packed Performer of the Week. @minguabeefjerky, @bigassfans, @MCHSCoach, @AdenBolden, @JDaugherty1992

’26 RB/WR/DB/OLB the very definition of ‘Athlete’

Guys like Aden Bolden can get overlooked. Bolden attends school in tiny Calhoun, Kentucky; plays football at the Kentucky 3A level, and lives in a rural area which doesn’t get the most “sunlight” shone on it regularly. That notwithstanding, the 5’9,” ’26 “athlete” runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6-seconds flat, churns out 100-meters in 11.3 seconds (40-time is fully automated and backed up by his 100-meter speed), squats 335-pounds, deadlifts a tad over four-plates (415), and power cleans a cool 235. Regardless of this guy’s height, length, or weight, he is ALL FOOTBALL PLAYER. Matter of fact, this All-Stater could sneak into the “Mr. Football” conversation.

HB Lyon, Chief of Scouting, “KPGFootball”

Tom Carr Sports Photography

Mingua Beef Jerky uses Enviro-Pac CHU-2000 equipment to cook its meat to USDA required levels for both moist or dry operation. Mingua Beef Jerky wants you to become one of its many satisfied customers by sampling its quality hand sliced, all natural beef jerky. We know you’ll love it and come back for more, again and again.     

Ronnie Mingua began experimenting with making beef jerky back in the 1990s. He shared his efforts with neighbors and friends, soon realizing he had come up with something different and superior to all other beef jerkies on the market. From these humble beginnings, Mingua Beef Jerky got its start.  

Today, the Mingua Beef Jerky Company still prides itself on using its old-fashioned, all-natural recipes which offer outstanding products to customers across the nation. The recipes are a family tradition, passed down from generation to generation.     

Our recipes and our quality ingredients, hand-cut from solid pieces of beef, are never chopped or formed like other brands, making our products superior and one of a kind. That would make our products similar to this week’s Protein-packed Performer, Aden Bolden, ’26 “Athlete” from McLean County High School in Calhoun, Kentucky. 

Our recipes and our quality ingredients, hand-cut from solid pieces of beef…

Mingua Beef Jerky

Calhoun, KY: In our book, Football 101: Boo-Boo’s a Quarterback, Coach Harp and I wrote about this very kind of football star. In chapter 16, we said…

“Here’s something fans struggle with understanding: the high school game will always be the last stand and best footing for the 5’9,” 235-pound, high school pulling guard. You will never eliminate ‘that guy’ from the high school game. Matter of fact, the high school game is his! It was made for him.”

Long, Fletcher and Harp, Sam. Football 101: Boo-Boo’s a Quarterback. 1st Edition, 2024, P. 160 (Chapter 16, “Football, the greatest game ever conceived”).

Twitter Account, Hudl, Prep Red-
Zone profile; Tom Carr Sports
Photography

Were we specifically taking about McLean County’s Aden Bolden? No sir. Could we have been? Sure.

Aden Bolden made our Big Ass Fans, Small School (12A, 2A, 3A) All-state Football team this past year, his junior season. The team, like a lot of postseason teams, was heavily weighted with seniors. Making this team as a “junior” was something special, something to celebrate.

Bolden made the squad as an “Athlete.” What that means is Bolden was so good, in so many phases of the game, we couldn’t pigeon-hole him into a single side of the ball.

Bolden is 5’9,” weighs 175-pounds, and has been deployed at RB/WR/DB/ and OLB. Bolden runs a fully automated 4.6-second, 40-yard dash and clips off 100-meters, in track, in 11.3-seconds. Maybe his most impressive stat is the 3.1-GPA he sports around campus.

We have been featuring “athletic versatility” for over a year now on our platform. Bolden may be our poster child for that particular concept.

Bolden carried the football for Coach Zach Wagner’s McLean County Cougars 184-times. He gained 1,439-yards (roughly 7.82-yards a rushing attempt), scored 13-rushing TDs, and completed 9-passes for 222-yards and a pair of TDs. Bolden caught some passes, led the team in scoring (88-points), and scored four times on special teams (two-pointers).

Bolden rushed for 1,439-yards and 13-TDs while registering 62-tackles, 4.5-TFLs, and half a sack

Friday Night Fletch

This would be tremendous versatility if we were done. He also played defensively.

On defense, Bolden registered 62-tackles, 4.5-TFLs, and a half a sack. Bolden also forced a fumble.

We call that three (3) phase utility. Not a ton of players across the commonwealth can boast of such versatility.

Going into the ’25 Fall season, the Cougars are coming off a 7-4 worksheet. Coach Wager’s Cougars regular contend for district and even regional supremacy, as the Cougars routinely “hang around” way longer in the playoffs than the casual fan realizes.

Who could possibly mean more to a team than Bolden does to McLean County? It is almost like we are describing a “Mr. Football Candidate,” wouldn’t you agree?

Join us next week as we return to honor another weekly prize winner. Until then, pop some Mingua Beef Jerky in your mouth and savor the quality and flavor which sets it apart from the competition. Remember, our product is superior and one of a kind; just like McLean County’s Aden Bolden.  

This is Friday Night Fletch reporting for Kentucky Prep Gridiron and reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE. Don’t forget to SAVOR THE FLAVOR!

About Fletcher Long 1675 Articles
Two-time winner of Kentucky Press Association awards for excellence in writing and reporting news stories while Managing Editor of the Jackson (KY) Times-Voice

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