FELTON — The moment Ayden Young got the ball in his hands, the hole seemed to open up in front of him.
All the Lake Forest High fullback saw was daylight.
“As soon as I broke through the line, I was like, ‘OK, this is going to be a pretty good run,’” Young remembered. “Once I started running I just felt like, nothing’s stopping me now so I might as well keep going.”
Seventy-one yards later, the senior reached the end zone. Young was actually tackled from behind by a hard-charging Odessa defender but not before he lunged the ball across the goal line.
All Young knew was that it was a touchdown.
“It felt great,” he said. “It felt like I was back. It felt like this is what I used to do.”
To understand why that moment in Lake Forest’s 18-14 win over Odessa last Thursday meant so much to Young, you have to understand what he’s been through.
A promising 1,000-yard rusher as a sophomore, he’s since undergone a pair of surgeries — one for a torn ACL in his right knee and the other for a torn ligament in his foot.
The injuries are why Young played in just five games a year ago.
The foot injury is still painful and limits his time on the field in practice. But Young, whose Spartan squad hosts Kent County rival Caesar Rodney (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m., said a football field is still his favorite place to be.
“Being away from the sport for so long has made me miss it,” he said. “You don’t really understand how much the sport means to you until you can’t play that sport.
“There’ll be a little pain here and there but I’m able to push through it every game. I don’t want to miss my senior year. It’s going to be my last time playing with all of these fellas out here. I want to do everything I can for them.”
Lake Forest coach Fred Johnson appreciates what Young has gone through in his career.
The youngster ran for 1,016 yards and 12 touchdowns in 10 games as a sophomore. He’s played in only six games since then, running for 464 yards with six TDs.
“He’s been through a lot the last couple years,” said Johnson. “I feel really bad for him because he works so hard. He’s one of the hardest-working kids I’ve ever had the chance to coach.
“He’s the type of kid that everyone would like to have on their team. He just does whatever you ask him to do.”
Johnson said he could tell that Young missed being able to play the game. But he also knows that getting back out there hasn’t been easy.
“With that foot injury, the doctor said, ‘When you play games, it’s going to bother you,’” said Johnson. “You either play through it or that’s it.”
Young finished the Odessa game with two touchdowns and 84 yards on just six carries. Johnson, of course, liked his 71-yard scoring run.
“That was the old Ayden,” he said. “That was nice that he got that long run. I’m sure he felt good. He looked like his normal self when he was running down the field.”
Whether he can recapture his former running ability or not, Young said he just wants to play the game as much as he can.
Young, who is averaging 5.9 yards per carry in his career, feels like the injuries have changed him.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I really enjoy getting out there, being able to play.
“I feel like I’ve still got a little bit of room to improve but I feel like I’m better than my old self. I’ve already gone through tons of adversity. I have a better mindset and I’ve been working on my body more so I can stay healthy for this year.”
Knights, Cavs square off
Sussex Central (1-0) hosts Middletown (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. in a clash of highly-regarded Class 3A squads.
A year ago, the Cavaliers registered a decisive 41-7 win over the Golden Knights in Middletown.
Not including a game the Cavs forfeited in 2021, Middletown has won the last two meetings. Central beat the Cavs, 28-19, in the 2020 DIAA Division I state finals.
In the Knights’ 41-20 win over Laurel last week, senior fullback Malik Bell put up 168 yards rushing with three touchdowns.
In its opener, Middletown registered a quality 17-14 win over Red Bank Catholic, N.J.
Extra points
• Smyrna is 7-3 in its last 10 games against Salesianum starting with its memorable OT win over the Sals in the 2015 state finals.
But the Sals won both of last year’s meetings heading into Friday’s rematch at Smyrna.
•Sussex Tech senior Kyle Thompson ran for 292 yards and five TDs in the Ravens’ 56-34 win over Glasgow. Teammate Isaiah Jones added 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
• Caesar Rodney’s 17-0 win over William Penn last week marked the Riders’ first shutout win since it had two in 2020.
• Shane Speights is now the head coach of Dover’s Early College squad. The Hornets have 29 players listed on their roster, with just one senior, 12 freshmen and seven eighth-graders.
Early College plays at AI DuPont on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Hornets beat the Tigers, 38-6, for their only victory in three-plus seasons.
•Woodbridge senior Kam’ Ren Johnson had 77 yards on just eight carries last week for an average of 9.6 yards per carry.
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