Brady Green doesn’t remember the exact amount of rushing yards he totaled last season, but he knows it wasn’t good.
“I think I was probably in the negatives with all the sacks I took,” Green smiled.
That assumption is correct as he finished with minus-37 yards rushing last year.
It’s safe to assume those days are behind him.
Green rushed for 102 yards Friday night and threw for 226 more, adding three touchdown tosses in the Shady Spring’s 28-27 win against Nicholas County.
For his efforts, Green has been named the Week 2 Lootpress Player of the Week by the Lootpress sportswriters.
The award is sponsored by Little General, The Northside Automotive Group, Dutch Miller Auto and The Law Offices of Brandon Steele. The Kanawha Valley Player of the Week winner will be announced Wednesday.
Green, who received 43.6 percent of the total votes in the fan poll, won the award on the tiebreaker, beating out Princeton’s Dom Collins. Montcalm’s Logan Carver won the Community Choice vote with 44.6 percent of the total votes.
Green put an emphasis on getting his body prepared for the season, shedding weight to increase his mobility. It’s paid dividends early in the season as he’s rushed for 128 yards thus far while also extending plays in the passing game.
“As far as the offseason I did a lot of working out and watched what I ate,” Green said. “Matt Morris helped me out a lot as far as football and dieting and workout stuff. On the final drive, as far as stepping up in the pocket and rolling out and hitting those guys, I couldn’t have done that last year as far as mobility. This year I feel a lot more mobile.”
Green’s crowning achievement Friday was leading the Tigers back in the final minute of the game. After jumping out to a 21-7 lead, Shady fell behind 27-21 when Jaxson Morriston scored his third rushing touchdown of the game. Green proceeded to lead an 11-play, 89-yard drive where he found junior receiver Jalon Bailey for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left to tie the game. A PAT kick by Jacob Shamblin cemented the win.
“Once they scored, I knew we had to go down,” Green said. “We blocked their PAT and I knew we were going to win. You’ve just got to have all the confidence in your team and your coaches that you’re going to go 90 yards in 1:54 and take the game.”
The winning-score marked the fourth time Bailey and Green hooked up Friday with the first connection resulting in a 50-yard score.
“I just took the snap, read all my reads and saw Jalon hit the hole,” Green said. “I stepped up, chucked it and gave Jalon a catchable ball and he made the play. It looked looked like they were playing man and we thought we could take advantage of that. The guy guarding Jalon, we just felt like it was a mismatch. Their safety, we felt like he played (in the box) so we thought we could take advantage of the deep ball.”
Green will be honored at the Lootpress Winter Player of the Year Banquet in Dec.
Logan Carver, the top overall vote-getter, will advance to the end of the season Community Choice poll where he will have a chance to win a $500 scholarship.
023 Player of the Week Winners
Week 1: Trey Bowers, Independence
Week 2: Brady Green, Shady Spring
2023 Community Choice Winners (Will advance to year end poll for $500 scholarship)
Week 1: Jayden Roop, Midland Trail
Week 2: Logan Carver, Montcalm
