Sarasota stars adding stats, interest

Sarasota (Fla.) High running back Mike Ford entered the season as an enigma. Now, with the help of offensive lineman Brian Kelleher, he’s starting to look like a star.

Ford has rushed for 579 yards in the Sailors’ first three games while sitting out four quarters in blowouts. That works out to an average of 289.5 yards per complete game.

"Mike’s been a tremendous back in our area for the past three years," Sarasota coach Bob Perkins said. "He’s busted out two real big games in the last two weeks, and I think his combination of power and speed, he’s 6-foot-2, 205 pounds with 4.4-second time in the 40-yard dash, is his greatest asset."

While Ford has scholarship offers from Pittsburgh, East Carolina and Eastern Michigan, he’s also receiving heavy interest from many of the country’s top programs because of his recent rushing surge.

"Auburn called the other night, and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and LSU have all been talking to me pretty closely about him," Perkins said. "He’s still trying to work on academics, he spent the summer working on his core GPA and working on test scores, so his focus is academics so he can qualify. But I’m sending out like 35 tapes a week on his last few games."

Ford has been getting some help from a teammate, too. Kelleher, who wants to stay in state and has been receiving heavy interest from South Florida and Central Florida, is a two-star offensive lineman who has graded out above 90 percent on blocks in each of Sarasota’s early games.

"The biggest thing he brings is his quickness and his quick feet for a kid his size," Perkins said. "This year he’s grading out as our best offensive lineman, and he’s been a terrific kid to coach as far as his ability and work ethic on the field."

Together, the two have produced explosive results. On one recent run, Ford took an eight-yard burst outside the box, broke a tackle and reversed field behind a Kelleher block. He then turned down field, stiff-armed multiple defenders and kept his balance while galloping down the sideline for a big gain.

"It was one of the most magnificent runs I’ve ever seen," Perkins said. "He’s really showed us something as a coaching staff lately, because he putting whole combinations of moves together on a single run. It’s really impressive."