Every inch, every pound, @yates15_zach (Zach Yates) from @LC_Cougars is a ball-player (Featured Photo; 4 Him Photos).

Wears No. 55 now, used to wear No. 15, Photograph by 4 Him Photos

If you could start a high school football team, and you got to choose one player in the Class of 2021 around whom to build this team, who would you choose? The name you say will tell us what you really know or don’t know about football.

Many people who read this site will say Darion Dearinger from Anderson County and he would be a solid choice. He is Kentucky’s top DE, one of its most recruited and coveted prospects and doubles as a TE.

Many people will say Dekel Crowdus from Frederick Douglass. He is the top-rated player in the 2021 class by recruiting services and one of the nation’s top WR-prospects.

Many people will say Hopkinsville’s Reece Jesse, Jr. Another of Kentucky’s top-rated WRs, he can also play safety and is one of the most dynamic and explosive athletes in the commonwealth.

Many people will say Breathitt County’s William Long. He made the AP All-State Football first-team for the second consecutive year as an offensive center and was honorably mentioned for his play at NG, so getting him is getting two All-Staters on two critical sides of the football in only one selection. Plus he’s the strongest, most powerful kid in Kentucky.

Many people will say Austin Gough from Owensboro. Austin is probably Kentucky’s very best LBer in the 2021 class who was injured much of his junior year. Austin is also a two-time AP All-Stater on defense who is devastating as a RB too. Once again, getting two high-caliber players in only one selection.

Photo: Kenny Phillips Photograph

While we can’t fault any of the above selections, we’re taking Logan County’s Zach Yates. Why? We think he is the commonwealth of Kentucky’s premier football player. He’s the kind of guy who can be plugged in (literally) anywhere and your production in that slot will undeniably increase. He’s a glue guy. He’s our guy.

We have gone back and checked a few of the Logan County rosters for a height and weight on Yates. He’s listed as being 5-10 and weighing 205 pounds. Look at Kenny Phillips’ photograph of Yates to the left of this paragraph. Two-zero-five? Yeah, whatever! This kid isn’t a gram under 240-pounds. When he’s come up to the line of scrimmage and stuck you a few times you would swear he weighs a ton.

Yates has played fullback, linebacker, offensive center, and offensive guard for Logan County over the three years he has been in the lineup. Like William Long and John Mudd, he has been in the lineup for the Cougars since coming up from middle school.

Entering his senior year, Yates has played in almost all of the 35 games the Cougars have played. They are 29-6 over that period of time, 2-3 in the playoffs.

Zach is most known for his play defensively at MLB. In three years as a starter, Zach has 236-tackles, 20 TFLs, 4FFs, 7FRs, and 5 QB-sacks. He made the KPGFootball freshman and sophomore All-State teams and was 2nd Team All-Sky conference in 2019.

Now we seriously doubt there are better linebackers in the Big Sky than Yates. There may be better frames. There may be kids with more offers. Is there a better linebacker in the Big Sky? We seriously doubt it.

Zach is a guy, with some help from his teammates and a dynamite coaching staff, who completely changed the trajectory of the Cougars’ program. You may not remember this but it wasn’t too long ago the Cougars owned Kentucky’s longest consecutive losing string.

Any school which signs Yates is getting an All-Conference player. They are also signing a team captain and probably for two years. You see, if you want to playing championship caliber football, fill your roster with winners.

In the end that is Yates’ most pronounced skill. He’s a winner. He always has been, is now, and will forever be. As a result, if we get to select first to build a team which will contend for the on-field championships on Friday nights, we’ll take the Yates kid. You can pick whoever you want. We’ll meet you at the field, Hoss!

This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!

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About Henry Lyon 1210 Articles
Have coached at the high school and middle school level. Have worked in athletic administration. Conceal my identity to enable my candor on articles published by this magazine. Only members of the editorial board are aware of my true identity.

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