RAY READY TO RUN WILD

There have been five Booneville High School football players who have rushed for over 1700 yards in a single season. Three of them live in the same house. One of those has a year of eligibility remaining.

Randon Ray ran for 1733 yards a season ago, joining his father Allen (1761 in 1999) and brother Carson (1760 in 2018), as well as Bryson May (1825 in 2014) and Ronnie Littleton (1967 in 1978) in the group.

Both Allen, who went by Gator, and Carson were fullbacks. Randon is a quarterback. May was also a fullback and Littelton a halfback, meaning Ray ran for more yards than any quarterback in the history of the program.

“I’m built a little differently,” the 160-pound Ray said of breaking with the family position tradition, though still accumulating fullback like carry counts, ending the year with 225 attempts.

Ray twice surpassed 200 yards in a game last year, in a loss to Warren, and a win over Perryville.

How successful has Ray been over the course of two years of Bearcat football? If he never ran the ball again he has the 10th highest rushing total in school history.

With exactly 1000 yards as a sophomore, Ray is at 2733 yards to date and is 1520 yards away from the school record. At a career average of 7.7 per carry, he needs just under 200 carries to match the career record of 4243 yards held by his father.

But will those carries be there?

On one hand, Ray is the only regular returning in the backfield. Presumptive starters with the senior include Ray’s brother, Rylen – who is in the family tradition role of fullback – and Dax Goff, who are both sophomores.

Junior Brooks Herrera did see considerable action a year ago – finishing with 36 carries for 230 yards – especially after an injury ended Ty Goff’s season.

"We’ve got a little more depth this year,” Ray says of a roster that has seven other players who have carried the football.

Of course that could mean he wouldn’t need to carry the ball as much.

Ray said the Bearcats have been adding wrinkles to the offense to create a little different threat in the middle of the field for opponents who will have to concern themselves with both Rays.

Ray hasn’t been called on to throw the football much in his career but he says if that becomes necessary in 2021 he believes he will be more prepared to do so, which could again cut into the carry count.

Playing quarterback and being one of the most experienced players on the roster , Ray will obviously be counted upon for leadership.

“That’s okay. I like to take over,” Ray says of that notion.

Leadership roles are not terribly unusual. Ray's first offensive play of high school football came as a quarterback – though he would mainly play at halfback the rest of the season.

Ray spent the 2021 offseason with teammates as much as possible. The rest of the time he was on a baseball diamond or serving as a lifeguard at the Booneville City Pool.

“It’s not that bad. I’ve grown up like this. I’ve never had a ton of time off, jumping sport to sport,” said Ray. “When I was little I did everything I could, even gymnastics and basketball.”

As a Bearcat there is also baseball and track.

Football is the focus, of course, but baseball may actually be the future.

“I got a lot of camp invites (for football) but I don’t have a lot of offers. I’m going to go play baseball (in college),” said Ray.

Ray figures the 2021 conference season could come down to the battle of Logan County against Paris again, but he isn’t discounting Perryville after seeing the Mustangs at a team camp, as well as Atkins and Danville, the later being a team the Bearcats did not face in 2020.