St. Joseph Catholic School’s Kye Nelson, the Planters Bank Player of the Week, has always been one of the smallest football players on the field. This, however, has never stopped him from doing his best for his team and playing with all his heart.
“I know I am not the biggest, but everybody puts on their pads like I put on mine,” said Nelson who tips the scales at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. “I can’t be afraid. I know I am going to get the ball, and I know I am going to get hit. There are going to be people that can stop me, but I have to go in there thinking that nobody can stop me.”
Nelson, a junior, had one of his best games of his career last Friday night in the Irish’s 42-7 home victory over St. Aloysius. In the victory, which pushed St. Joe’s record to 7-1, Nelson rushed for 198 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. On defense playing middle linebacker, Nelson registered four tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble for a touchdown.
St. Joseph head coach John Baker calls Nelson an integral part to his team.
“Kye has always been the smallest guy on the team in pee wee and junior high, but he has always had the biggest heart and you can always count on him,” Baker said. “Now he is our number one running back, and he has gotten a lot stronger for us. He has been carrying the football pretty hard. He is fast and physical. He can do it all.”
Nelson said what makes this year’s St. Joseph team so good is not just the players’ athletic gifts, but their connection with each other.
“We have played together since fifth and and sixth grades,” Nelson said. “We have a strong brotherhood. Everybody we play is bigger than us, but we have so much heart and connection we play to the best of our abilities.”
The St. Joseph Irish will end their regular season Friday night at Kirk Academy (5-4), a team Baker calls a tough and physical one with a ‘phenomenal’ running back in senior A.J. Wren.
The Irish, who have moved up to Class 4A this season in the MAIS, have already earned a first-round bye in the state playoffs.
St. Joseph is hoping to win its fourth state championship in the last five years.
“I am going to do whatever it takes to help my team win the state championship,” Nelson said.
“I watched myself grow into this player that I am. It was a step-by-step process. My freshman year, I was just watching and waiting. Then my sophomore year, I was getting put in and I started doing good. Now it’s my junior year, and it is my breakout year.”
