Young gets high praise from teammates

NORCO, Calif. - Kelsey Young rushed for 297 yards and three touchdowns and instead of taking any of the credit for himself he said all the praise belongs to his offensive line for opening up so many holes.

That is partially true but Young, a 5-foot-11, 192-pound running back from Norco who's committed to Stanford, was incredible in a 25-21 win against Los Angeles Crenshaw this past weekend.

He had touchdown runs of 71 and 73 yards on two of his first three carries. He later scored on a nifty 37-yard scamper.

Maybe his best run came on a 69-yard gainer in the second half when he was seemingly pinned on the sideline by a multitude of Crenshaw defenders, got through a tiny hole, bounced off a few tacklers and then broke free on a highlight-reel run.

"I couldn't do anything without my team," said Young, who committed to the Cardinal on March 15. "It's an effort from everybody. Everybody did their part. It wasn't just me. It was a team effort.

"I just had to go. That's all my coach tells me and when I don't do that my coach yells at me so I have no other choice to do that and then I was just doing what I was taught."

In a game billed as a battle between two running backs - Young and Crenshaw five-star athlete De'Anthony Thomas - Young definitely won the matchup and the game.

He was more exciting, made more plays, had more of an influence on the outcome and just pulverized Crenshaw's defense on numerous runs.

Thomas, who doubles at running back and defensive back, finished with 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. He's also become surprisingly good coming up and stopping the run while playing defense.

But the night belonged to Young, a four-star prospect rated No. 16 at running back, No. 218 nationally and No. 23 in the California state rankings by Rivals.com. His teammates couldn't have been happier.

"I love blocking for Kelsey," said offensive lineman Brent Walker, who might be close to a commitment to UCLA. "He's my favorite running back I've ever blocked for. I wouldn't want to block for anybody else.

"Kelsey is very humble. He knows how great he is, everybody knows how great he is but he's just a really humble guy and I love him for it."

Watching and learning from Young is a favorite thing of junior linebacker Scott Starr, one of the next big names to come out of Norco. Not only is Starr figuring out bits and pieces about the recruiting process from Young but also how to carry himself on the field, how to be a better player and to do what's expected to lead a team.

"He's one of the greatest people I've ever known," Starr said. "He's a real leader for our team. I have the most respect for him out of anybody on this team. He leads us through every single game and that guy is my brother for life."