Athlete of the Week: Nelson is Oxford’s home run hitter
Jeremy Nelson grew up watching his head coach, Mike Chrystie, dazzle fans and devastate opponents as a standout quarterback for the Blackhawks about a decade ago.
Chrystie, a New York State sprinting champion, was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. Nelson, a senior third-year player for Oxford, is doing his best impression of his coach.
Nelson had the game of his life last Friday night in a 38-0 shutout win over division rival Hancock. Nelson scored four times – the only four times he had a chance to make a play.
For the season, Nelson has a team-high seven touchdowns scoring on offense, defense, and special teams over the last two weeks, and is this week’s Smith Ford LLC/Evening Sun Athlete of the Week.
“He’s matured a lot mentally and physically over the last year,” Chrystie said of his top receiving threat. “It’s his third year on varsity, and he’s accepted the role that he needs to put up points for us to be successful. He’s worked hard in the offseason to better himself physically.”
Nelson was a big-play threat the first two weeks of the season. He was averaging nearly 30 yards per catch, but did not find the end zone as the Oxford offense struggled with consistency.
The scoring drought ended against Harpursville as Nelson raked in a 40-yard TD pass from John Wonka, and scored on an 89-yard kickoff return that broke a tie game in the fourth quarter and secured the Blackhawks’ first win. He returned another kickoff – 75 yards – for a TD against Unadilla Valley-Edmeston the ensuing week to set the stage for his biggest game.
Wonka completed two long passes in the game, and each time Nelson came down with the ball. On the first play, Nelson just blew by his defender, on the second, he used his athleticism to win the ball and score easily.
In between those two scores, Nelson grabbed an interception, and raced 78 yards for another touchdown. Finally, on a 25-yard field goal attempt, a bad snap forced Nelson to tuck the ball under his arm. He made one Hancock defender miss on his way to another six-pointer. Among his seven touchdowns, the seven-yard TD scamper is the only one less than 28 yards.
“We knew Jeremy would be our home run hitter. He’s our breakaway and speed guy,” Chrystie said. “We’ve been able to run the ball well with Booker (Davis) and Paulie (Wonka), and that’s freeing Jeremy up one-on-one. I’ll take Jeremy one-on-one against anybody that we play.”
Despite touching the ball two times on “called” offensive plays the past two weeks, Nelson has managed five touchdowns. Chrystie expects those touches to increase marketedly this weekend when the Blackhawks face their toughest division test to date, Delhi.
“(This weekend), Jeremy will probably have the most touches he’s had all season,” Chrystie said. “I’m sure Delhi is confident with who they have on the field, but they have to be worried about Jer and want to limit his touches. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t kick off to him.”
Delhi can do its best to keep the ball out of Nelson’s hands, but based on the last few weeks, Nelson doesn’t need plays called for him to score touchdowns. “Jer has been able to make plays elsewhere (other than offense),” Chrystie said. “If Delhi’s defense does decide to focus on Jer, that will only help our running game.”
And it may help the Blackhawks knock off the state-ranked Bulldogs.
Chrystie, a New York State sprinting champion, was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. Nelson, a senior third-year player for Oxford, is doing his best impression of his coach.
Nelson had the game of his life last Friday night in a 38-0 shutout win over division rival Hancock. Nelson scored four times – the only four times he had a chance to make a play.
For the season, Nelson has a team-high seven touchdowns scoring on offense, defense, and special teams over the last two weeks, and is this week’s Smith Ford LLC/Evening Sun Athlete of the Week.
“He’s matured a lot mentally and physically over the last year,” Chrystie said of his top receiving threat. “It’s his third year on varsity, and he’s accepted the role that he needs to put up points for us to be successful. He’s worked hard in the offseason to better himself physically.”
Nelson was a big-play threat the first two weeks of the season. He was averaging nearly 30 yards per catch, but did not find the end zone as the Oxford offense struggled with consistency.
The scoring drought ended against Harpursville as Nelson raked in a 40-yard TD pass from John Wonka, and scored on an 89-yard kickoff return that broke a tie game in the fourth quarter and secured the Blackhawks’ first win. He returned another kickoff – 75 yards – for a TD against Unadilla Valley-Edmeston the ensuing week to set the stage for his biggest game.
Wonka completed two long passes in the game, and each time Nelson came down with the ball. On the first play, Nelson just blew by his defender, on the second, he used his athleticism to win the ball and score easily.
In between those two scores, Nelson grabbed an interception, and raced 78 yards for another touchdown. Finally, on a 25-yard field goal attempt, a bad snap forced Nelson to tuck the ball under his arm. He made one Hancock defender miss on his way to another six-pointer. Among his seven touchdowns, the seven-yard TD scamper is the only one less than 28 yards.
“We knew Jeremy would be our home run hitter. He’s our breakaway and speed guy,” Chrystie said. “We’ve been able to run the ball well with Booker (Davis) and Paulie (Wonka), and that’s freeing Jeremy up one-on-one. I’ll take Jeremy one-on-one against anybody that we play.”
Despite touching the ball two times on “called” offensive plays the past two weeks, Nelson has managed five touchdowns. Chrystie expects those touches to increase marketedly this weekend when the Blackhawks face their toughest division test to date, Delhi.
“(This weekend), Jeremy will probably have the most touches he’s had all season,” Chrystie said. “I’m sure Delhi is confident with who they have on the field, but they have to be worried about Jer and want to limit his touches. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t kick off to him.”
Delhi can do its best to keep the ball out of Nelson’s hands, but based on the last few weeks, Nelson doesn’t need plays called for him to score touchdowns. “Jer has been able to make plays elsewhere (other than offense),” Chrystie said. “If Delhi’s defense does decide to focus on Jer, that will only help our running game.”
And it may help the Blackhawks knock off the state-ranked Bulldogs.
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