by Rod Frisco
For The Associated Press
(AP)—Rushel Shell of Hopewell did not have the perfect football season.
Shell, a senior running back, suffered an injury at the midpoint of the 2011 high school football season that forced him to sit out one full game and part of another. His Hopewell team was unable to advance past the quarterfinal round of the District 7 Class AAA playoffs.
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| PITT RECRUIT RUSHEL SHELL (Courier Photo/William McBride, File) |
His absence those six quarters threatened to derail his quest to become the state’s career leading rusher.
It didn’t.
Despite the injury and Hopewell’s second-round playoff exit, Shell still managed to accumulate a career total of 9,078 yards, easing past Steelton-Highspire’s Jeremiah Young (9,027 yards) to become the state’s most prolific running back.
Along the way, the University of Pittsburgh recruit established a national record by rushing for at least 100 yards in 39 consecutive games played, breaking the previous NFHS mark of 38 consecutive 100-yard rushing games established by Billy Sims. Sims, who went on to play for Oklahoma and the Detroit Lions in the NFL, accomplished the feat from 1972 through 1975 at Hooks High School in Texas.
That was enough for Shell to be named the Pennsylvania Class AAA player of the year on the 2011 Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ All-State Football Team.
Another District 7 player, Clairton junior running back Tyler Boyd, was the runaway winner of the Class A player of the year honors after playing a major role in the Bears’ third straight PIAA Class A championship.
Montour, beaten by McDevitt 41-32 in the state semifinals, had three offensive players selected—quarterback Dillon Buechel, running back Julian Durden and wide receiver Devin Wilson—and had the AAA Coach of the Year, Lou Cerro.
In Class A, Boyd was a versatile player and key figure in Clairton’s record-setting run to its third straight state championship.
In the process of going 16-0 for a second straight year, the Bears ended the season with 47 consecutive victories, a District 7 record and the longest active winning streak in the nation. Next season, Clairton has a chance to attack the state record for consecutive wins (59) established by Central Bucks West from 1997 through 2000.
Boyd scored nearly 300 points this season for Clairton, topped off by two long touchdown runs in the PIAA Class A championship game against Southern Columbia.
Boyd is joined by three other Clairton players on the all-state team: offensive lineman Carvan Thompson, defensive lineman Eric Walker and defensive back Trenton Coles.
No other team placed as many players on the all-state team as Clairton but Sto-Rox (linebacker Deaysean Rippy and defensive back Marzett Geter) was among seven schools that had two players each.
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