MOREHEAD —
Justin Graham and Steven Jones may have the most stressful jobs on Rowan County's football team.
Their job? Replacing Adam Wing — now a freshman basketball player at the University of Evansville — who ran for 1,101 yards and 11 touchdowns and threw for another 1,363 and 12 scores.
“(Replacing Wing is) on my mind every day,” Jones said. “We work hard every day.”
Graham is the starter, and he realizes he's not within a time zone of duplicating Wing's numbers.
“I'm not trying to make the biggest bang,” Graham said. “I'm just trying to help my team.”
Graham, a sophomore left-hander, will start, and varsity yardage is, well, negligible — two completions in four attempts for 14 yards in mop-up duty last year. He's been behind the center since middle school.
“I liked trying to lead the team and dictating what's going on on the field,” Graham said.
Rowan County head coach Kyle Singleton said Graham playing basketball and baseball helps him on the football field.
“He's going to be pretty good at all three of those,” Singleton said. “I think decision-making, being able to handle pressure situations, I think that's as big as anything from baseball … basketball, helping improve athleticism is being able to jump, eye-hand coordination, catching the ball skills, that kind of stuff.”
At 5-foot-10 and 160 pounds, Graham is not as big as the 6-4 Wing. “Usually I'm more likely to roll out or come off to the side a little bit,” he said.
Singleton said Graham is not as mobile as Wing was, but Graham's attitude has helped as much as his arm, hands or feet.
“He's definitely a positive kid who's kind of got a vibe, a little swagger to himself,” Singleton said.
Graham said one other thing helped — a June 21 visit from Wing, who had come home from summer school.
“(Wing) asked me if I needed help with my reads,” Graham said. “... Sometimes I'm a little confused on which way the reads go or where they are, but usually I can find them pretty easy.”
Jones, a junior righty, skipped middle school because of family issues. He was a receiver as well as the third string quarterback last year, but he did not take a varsity snap until this summer.
“I just wanted to come back,” Jones said. “I missed playing football. All of it; it was all fun.”
Senior receiver Isaac Lee said there are distinct differences between Graham and Jones.
“Steven's ball, it just feels more natural to me sometimes,” Lee said. “Justin's more impactful in the running game and the passing game.”
Singleton said Graham has to speed up the time it takes to read a coverage and find the correct receiver.
“He's got to work on understanding the read, what we're seeing and what we're trying to accomplish each throw,” Singleton said.
Like Wing before him, Graham is willing to share the glory.
“If that means that I'm not holding the ball as much, if I'm handing it off to someone else, then that's what I'm going to do,” Graham said.
Local Sports
No Wing, but hope
Graham, Jones try to fill big shoes at Rowan
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63rd District baseball: Greenup County outduels Lewis, 7-3
Lightning delayed the 63rd District Tournament championship game several times following the first inning on Tuesday, creating a late night for Greenup County and Lewis County.
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Boyd’s Fraley commits to Herd
Boyd County sophomore basketball player Logan Fraley has announced her commitment to Marshall University.
The 5-foot-11 shooting guard informed Marshall women’s coach Matt Daniel of her decision on Monday morning, which was confirmed by Boyd County coach/father Pete Fraley via text message. -
63rd softball: Greenup leans on bunting, baserunning; Russell wins
Immersed in another district contest with little breathing room, Greenup County softball coach Eric Keeton resorted to the strengths of his lineup: bunting and baserunning.
Two bunts and a swinging bunt helped the Lady Musketeers scratch across three runs in the fifth inning of a 6-2 victory over Raceland in the 63rd District Tournament opening round on Monday night at Russell High School. Top-seeded Russell defeated Lewis County, also 6-2, earlier in the evening. -
Boyd pounds out 11 hits to go along with Grimm’s shutout, 14-0
Robbie Shivel might be a little sore after Monday night, but it was Fairview that left the game battered and bruised.
Boyd County belted out 11 hits to go along with Dylan Grimm's complete-game gem as the Lions roared past Fairview, 14-0, in the opening round of the 64th District Tournament at Ashland's Alumni Field. The game lasted five innings. -
Different look, same results for Lady Lions
A longtime fixture in the 64th District softball championship game, Boyd County looked different this return trip.
The Lady Lions defeated Fairview 10-5 in Monday’s district semifinal, which doubled as an Autism Awareness Night. Boyd County players wore light blue shirts and colorful, jigsaw puzzle socks for the event, which had to be rescheduled more than once due to weather problems. -
Musketeers explode in final 2 innings to beat Raceland; good times continue for Lewis
Through the first four innings of its 63rd District Tournament opener, Greenup County found itself hitless. The Musketeers made up for it over the next two innings.
Greenup County scored eight runs on eight hits in the final two innings to defeat Raceland, 9-1, at Russell High School on Monday. -
The will to win
Opponents get the same look from Emily Stewart whether it’s softball, basketball or soccer season.
Steely eyed and lips pursed, the Boyd County senior is keenly focused and all business between the lines. -
THE WEEKLY CYCLE: Holding the key to upset city?
It takes only one game. Few are more firm believers in that fact than the small schools that find themselves in underdog roles year after year.
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Locals struggle to make impact
Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug.
It is a saying that proved to be all too true for Rowan County on Friday night at the KHSAA Class 2A State Track and Field Championships at the University of Louisville’s Owsley Frazier Cardinal Park. -
Womack eliminated in state semis; Rose Hill, Russell doubles also ousted
Fairview senior Kennedy Womack wasn’t her consistent self in Saturday morning’s state tennis semifinals at the University of Kentucky’s Hilary Boone Tennis Complex.
As a result, the top seed fell to Lexington Sayre sophomore Madeline Rolph 6-1, 6-0.
Womack was obviously disappointed with her finish, especially after losing in last year’s state finals, but she was happy for her good friend Rolph. - More Local Sports Headlines
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