Shelby Valley had to have rolled into the Lexington Christian game feeling pretty good about itself in 2018. Why not? The Wildcats entered the contest fresh off a win in round one over Middlesboro, 42-0, and having won 10 of its previous 11 games on the year.
Well, they ran into a buzz-saw of a Lexington Christian team boasting the best freshman class in Kentucky at any level. However, we have Shelby Valley winning District 8 again in 2019 and this is a roster that boasts some impressive returning talent.
Everyone in Kentucky, including the staff at this particular magazine, are big Peyton Blackburn fans. After all, it was we who christened him “The Choke-Slammer” after watching him at about three combines this summer choke-slam defensive linemen attempting to gain the edge on him in pass-rushing drills.
While there is plenty of talent who graduated after last year, there will be plenty returning. Chief among the returners will be Dalton Meade, Class of 2020.
Sure, the Wildcats will miss RB Seth Johnson. After all, the 2019 graduate gained 2,212 yards in only 164 carries in 2018, scoring 25 rushing TDs. In spite of Johnson’s matriculation, Dalton Meade didn’t have a bad year running the football himself. Unlike Johnson, who wasn’t utilized often in passing game, Meade also doubled as an effective down the field target for departed QB Stanley Samuel.
Admittedly, the Wildcats used the forward pass sparingly last year. Without a single player on the roster who completed even a single pass returning from last season, we don’t believe 2019 will be much different.
In 2018, Meade gained 812 rushing yards in 110 carries with 13 rushing TDs. He caught 11 balls for 239 yards receiving and 4 TD receptions. All of that made him a very successful and versatile high school backfield performer but still paled in comparison with what he did on defense.
Meade led the Wildcat defense with 129 tackles with 7 of those made behind the line of scrimmage. The 5-10, 185-pound Meade also picked off 3 passes from his cornerback slot. We thought so much of his play we decided to link his junior and his sophomore highlights. Both sets of highlights were impressive enough for us to include them in this article via the above links.
Meade will have the second leading tackler returning with him to help shoulder the burden. Brayden Keithley had 93 stops in 2018 with 13 TFLs to go along with 6 QB sacks and a forced fumble.
So, all in all, the Wildcats return plenty of top-flight talent both up-front, along the offensive front, and, particularly, in its offensive backfield. These Wildcats will remain capable of running the football offensively.
Defensively, the Wildcats will remain stout against the opponent’s efforts to run the ball effectively. Taken together, those two components comprise the foundation of playing winning football. This is particularly true here in the mountains of eastern-Kentucky.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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