YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Recently, Valley Christian senior Ja’Sean Lindsey surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards to add to his school record mark.
“We got Mike Tyson in the backfield, you know, getting up there, and down there and get them touchdowns,” Lindsey said.
He reached the 4,000 club during an impressive stretch of 947 rushing yards in a four-game span (including a season-high 328 yards) and 11 touchdowns.
“Once we seal the blocks, he hit the team, it’s finished for them, they’re finished,” senior lineman Jymier Burrage said. “Once I see him pass the linebackers, it’s usually done by then so he just does it. He gets it done, that’s all he does.”
So now with well over 1,000 yards during his senior year, Lindsey will look to add to that school record number.
“It feels great to have 4,000 yards in the middle of my senior year but I’m still pushing. I’m trying to go for that 5,000,” Lindsey said.
That is a number nobody in the Eagles program has reached — that is, until this season.
“I have great linemen in front of me, all four years of high school,” Lindsey said. “Coaches backing me. I feel like you don’t really see that in the city. You don’t have a freshman on the team, just playing and getting reps like that.”
And he’s right — you don’t see it often but we saw plenty of Lindsey from the jump, piling up yards and touchdowns each fall of his four years.
Along the way, there were plenty of teammates, like Alfred Coward, more than just there for the ride but clearing the way to the record books.
“I’m just a person that likes to hit. I love to hit, that’s one of the biggest passions for this game,” Coward said. “So when I go and get the block, that’s my main goal, to make sure he’s on the ground and I whole as big as possible for my running back.”
Of course, the offensive line is getting a front-row view to Lindsey exploding through the lanes that they solidified.
“Yeah, I’m the center, so just being in the middle of it is just amazing to witness it,” Burrage said. “It’s just crazy that — he can rush for that many yards is just, like, it’s insane.”
“It means a lot that I got people that didn’t build me to the point where I can have my name in the leader board where it’s just hard to break that record,” Lindsey said. “So it means a lot to me to have that at Valley Christian Schools.”
The Eagles are next in action as they host Lisbon on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Liberty High School.