Logan Elm senior earns Bill McGaffney Award
By Brad Morris
SportingPumpkin.com
It didn’t take Logan Elm coach Terry Holbert long to figure out that Blayton Reid would be a key part of the school’s football program.
“Going back to when Blayton was in junior high, I could see the way that he worked his guts out and knew that we’d have a special type of player once he arrived in high school,” he said. “Overall, Blayton is so consistent with how he goes about his work in the weight room, at practice and in the classroom with his high GPA and challenging schedule that he has.
“I knew Blayton would always be steady, constant and dependable, no matter what the situation was or the adversity that we were facing.”
And Reid was certainly a dependable force that helped power the Braves to 28.1 points per game by rushing for 1,419 yards and 19 touchdowns. Reid was recognized for his season this week by earning the Bill McGaffney Award, presented to the top senior football player in Pickaway County. The award is sponsored by Roese Bros. Paving.
“It means a lot to win this award and have the 10 years of hard work I’ve put into playing football pay off,” said Reid, who is the second Logan Elm football player to win the award in three seasons and 11th overall. “I have to give credit to my teammates, because I’m fortunate to play with a great bunch of guys. I also have to single out our offensive line, because they open up the holes that I get to run through.
“Coach Holbert and the running back coaches that I’ve had over the years have also helped make me a better player.”
Reid, a four-year starter at running back and middle linebacker, burst on the scene when he rushed for 121 yards in his first varsity game as a freshman against Zane Trace.
“I’ve always been taught to put my shoulders down and run hard with the football, so that allowed me to have success early on in high school when I was adjusting to the speed of the game, because it’s a lot faster at the varsity level compared to playing eighth-grade football,” Reid said.
The 5-foot-9, 180-pound back looked up to Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott as he came through the Logan Elm football program, especially when Elliott helped to power the Buckeyes to the 2014 national championship.
“I absolutely loved watching Elliott, because he was a shorter back on the field like I am,” Reid said. “I admired the explosiveness that Elliott ran with at Ohio State and how well he got up and down the field.”
Reid showed off his own explosiveness this season in helping the Braves to their best season since 2011.
Following a season-opening loss to Scioto Valley Conference champion Zane Trace, Reid helped power a six-game winning streak for the Braves as he ran for 902 yards and scored 14 touchdowns. The run was highlighted by rushing for a new single-game program record of 301 yards on Sept. 23 in a 35-14 win over Fairfield Union
“With our zone run game, having success running the football comes down to reading the hole, making a good cut and seeing where open field is,” Reid said.
The Braves suffered a Week 8 setback to Mid-State League Buckeye Division champion and current regional semifinalist Bloom-Carroll but bounced back with convincing wins over Amanda-Clearcreek and Teays Valley. The 34-17 win over Teays Valley secured the Braves’ first Pickaway County championship since 2014 and a first-round home playoff game in Division IV, Region 15.
Drew Pasteur’s Fantastic 50 website rated the Braves as one of the most improved teams in the state, which they displayed on the field by going from 3-7 last season to 8-3 this season.
“Coach Holbert was in the weight room with us since last December and we really had a great offseason as a team,” Reid said. “We were stronger, more physical and that played a big role in us being a lot healthier compared to what we were last season.
“As seniors, we wanted this to be a different season and to put Logan Elm football back to where it should be. We also have a lot of younger guys that were passionate going back to the offseason and they really developed over the course of the season and made us a better football team.”
Besides setting the aforementioned new single-game program rushing record, Reid noted some of his other high school highlights included rushing for 225 yards last season against Westfall, being part of a senior class that went 2-0 in The Pit against rival Amanda-Clearcreek and three wins over Circleville in the Backyard Brawl.
“Blayton has made some unbelievable plays running the football that you just don’t see every day at this level,” Holbert said. “He is an explosive back who does a nice job of reading and making cuts to get into the open field, which goes back to studying a lot of tape of the opponents we played.”
Reid plans to continue and be a constant in the weight room over the winter and expects to play baseball this spring for the Braves. After graduation, he would like to attend Denison University to play collegiate football and major in data analytics.
McGaffney Award Winners
1985 — John Berry, Westfall
1986 — Sean White, Logan Elm
1987 — Shane Roese, Teays Valley
1988 — Bill Currence, Logan Elm
1989 — Lance Gibson, Westfall
1990 — Bill Davis, Westfall
1991 — Shawn Buescher, Westfall
1992 — Brian Dollison, Westfall
1993 — Greg Colburn, Westfall
1994 — Nate Hamman, Circleville
1995 — Billy Hamilton, Circleville
1996 — Lance Heath, Westfall
1997 — Brian Bigam, Circleville
1998 — Gavin Cupp, Logan Elm
1999 — Joe Lewis, Teays Valley
2000 — Matt Colopy, Logan Elm
2001 — Tyler Jenkins, Logan Elm
2002 — Aaron Palmer, Circleville
2003 — Brice Redman, Westfall
2004 — Wade Bartholomew, Westfall
2005 — Evan Blake, Logan Elm
2006 — Kevin Smith, Westfall
2007 — Drew Clanin, Circleville
2008 — D.J. Cain, Westfall
2009 — Johnnie Brown, Logan Elm
2010 — K.C. Hawkins, Circleville
2011 — Anthony Vagnier, Logan Elm
2012 — Trent Williamson, Westfall
2013 — David Burroughs, Circleville
2014 — Anthony Jones, Teays Valley
2015 — Drew Pennington, Teays Valley
2016 — Logan Holbert, Logan Elm
2017 — Brandon Coleman, Teays Valley
2018 — Taylor Robinson, Teays Valley
2019 — Tristan McDanel, Teays Valley
2020 — Conner Robinson, Logan Elm
2021 — Peyton Weiler, Teays Valley
2022 — Blayton Reid, Logan Elm
— Bill McGaffney was a former sports editor at the Circleville Herald.
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