Injured multiple times, star running back finally at full strength for undefeated Paintsville

Kent Phelps might be a hydra; the more you cut him, the stronger he seems to become.

Nobody can accuse the Paintsville running back of not giving all he has to the game he loves. He underwent labrum surgery twice, once after his eighth-grade season and another at the end of his freshman year which caused him to miss his sophomore campaign. He broke his arm playing baseball in March. He recovered from that in time to attend football camps this summer; in a June camp he strained a hamstring which caused him to miss a month ahead of his senior season.

Through it all, the senior has remained focused on his dream of qualifying for college (he scored a 24 on his ACT) and playing Division I football. His lowest point came after the second labrum surgery.

“It was a struggle,” Phelps said. “I didn’t think I was gonna be able to play again because of where I’d had two of ’em. It was extremely rough on me.”

Phelps made up for missed time, rushing for 19 touchdowns and nearly 1,600 yards as a junior living in the shadow of Kash Daniel, last year’s Mr. Football who’s now a freshman at the University of Kentucky.

No school has ever produced back-to-back Mr. Football winners. Phelps’ production as a senior should at least have him in the conversation: 862 rushing yards and 16 TDs along with three receiving TDs in seven games (as a precautionary measure, he sat out of Paintsville’s 17-16 win at Bourbon County).

It’s a thought to which Phelps, who committed to Wofford earlier this season, hasn’t given much time.

“I’ve just been focusing on a state championship,” Phelps said. “It hasn’t really crossed my mind that much.”

Paintsville has started 8-0 one season after winning its first 13 games. The Tigers fell at home against Pikeville in last year’s state semifinals with a hobbled Daniel watching from the sideline; Pikeville went on to win the Class A championship.

This week Paintsville takes its unblemished record to Raceland, who’s also 8-0, in a clash for the No. 1 seed in Class A’s 6th District.

“They’re a big, physical team,” Phelps said. “They’ve been tough every single year since I started high school.”

Tough was the first word Paintsville assistant coach Jason Kinner used to describe Phelps, a kid who’s answered every time the game tested his resolve.

“He’s a really special kid,” Kinner said. “He’s been through a ton of adversity through his career and every single time he’s come back stronger. The thing about football, you’re going to endure injuries, but how do you respond?

“Do you get up, dust yourself off and get back to work, or do you feel sorry for yourself? I think it says a lot about Kent’s character that he went back to work. That’s why he’s sitting in the position that he’s in.”

Winning a state title a year after one of the most prolific players to ever play football in the mountains graduated would “be kind of a feather in our cap” for a coaching staff that’s looking to build a tradition at Paintsville. It would complete the baseball-basketball-football triple crown for one of the smallest football-playing schools in the state.

And while now he’s making an impact at UK, Daniel’s legacy set the bar for which Phelps and others to follow keep striving.

“They sat here and they watched Kash do what he did,” Kinner said. “He’s an unbelievable worker in the weight room. Our kids saw that, and I think for them to see a kid go play in the SEC from little old Paintsville High School in Eastern Kentucky, I think that made it tangible to them.

“They could actually reach out and touch something that was doable. Before then it was 100 million miles away.”

▪  Rockcastle County will seek its first district sweep since 2006 when it takes the field against Knox Central at home. The Rockets (7-1) have only lost at Pulaski County this season and own wins over Somerset and Wayne County.

If you’re looking for a throwback defensive battle, this might be your best bet Friday night. Both Rockcastle and Knox Central (4-3-1) have stifled opponents’ run games this season to lead Class 4A: the Rockets are yielding only 47 yards a game while Knox Central leads the way at just 9 yards per game allowed to opposing rushers.

▪  Pulaski County receiver Jake Johnson recently passed former Bowling Green and current Western Kentucky receiver Nacarius Fant for third in career receiving yards. Johnson is at 4,654 through eight games. With a minimum of three games left for the Maroons (7-1), the top mark held by Somerset’s John Cole (4,981) nearly a decade ago appears within reach.

▪  Zack Klemme of the Ashland Daily Independent reported Monday that, according to the KHSAA, Russell will receive a bye in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The 6th District, with which Russell’s district is cross-bracketed, had only three participants this season — Belfry, Lawrence County and Pike County Central — after Sheldon Clark dropped out of district play.

▪  Bowling Green Coach Kevin Wallace was one of 16 coaches across the country to be named a coach for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 8, 2017. Lafayette offensive lineman Jedrick Wills was previously selected to play in the game.

▪  Nicholas County could tie its longest winning streak in school history and win the program’s seventh district title with a win at Bracken County on Friday. The Bluejackets have started the season 8-0 and are one of four undefeated Class A teams — Paintsville, Russellville and Raceland are the others — to have allowed fewer than 100 points this season.

▪  Tates Creek High School is accepting nominations for its inaugural school Hall of Fame class. The school is welcoming nominations based both on academic and athletic achievement. Please email your suggestions to Athletic Director John Dixon at john.dixon@fayette.kyschools.us.

This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Injured multiple times, star running back finally at full strength for undefeated Paintsville."