Independence Patriots, Davion Nelson 

The junior running back has been the Patriots workhorse all season long. He had a very solid game Friday night against Ardrey Kell in his first state playoff game to lead the Pats charge offensively.

Nelson carried the ball 40 times in the loss, he gained 184 yards rushing with 145 yards in the first half on 26 carries. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry, and completed one pass for 20 yards during a key drive down the stretch in the first half. In fact, he accumulated 60 yards of offense on this one drive alone to end the first half.

The talented junior had an outstanding season for the Patriots. Entering the game he had 176 carries accumulating 1279 yards, 99 yards his longest run from scrimmage, five 100 plus yardage games, 13 touchdowns while averaging 116.3 yards per game and 7.3 yards per carry during the regular season. When we include his playoff game performance he rushed for 1463 yards on 216 carries for a total of 6.8 yards per carry. He added another touchdown on a 33-yard rumble giving him 14 on the season. Nelson increased his average yards per game to 121.9 rushing.

These kinds of numbers should absolutely put him on the Southwestern 4AA All-Conference team when the selections are announced over the next upcoming weeks.

The sports editor and sports writers on the Mint Hill Times want to congratulate Davion Nelson for once again being selected our “Featured Player of the Week.”