Who Will Lead The WPIAL In Rushing Yards In 2019?

Former Steel Valley running back, Kam Williams, celebrates after a play against South Side Beaver in the WPIAL 2A football championship game in 2018.

SOURCE: TRIB LIVE HSSN

What a lot of people might not realize is the fact that there were a lot of good running backs in the WPIAL last year that were part of the "Class of 2019." Last season, the "Top 13" leading rushers from the WPIAL were all seniors that were part of the "Class of 2019". Last season, senior Kam Williams, former running back at Steel Valley, led the WPIAL in rushing yards with 2,020. Williams helped Steel Valley win a WPIAL 2A football championship last season.

Noah Whiteleather made big plays for Rochester last football season. Whiteleather helped Rochester get to the WPIAL Class 1A football championship and he was ranked 2nd in the WPIAL in rushing yards with 2,002. He will play NCAA college football at Edinboro University in the fall.

Whiteleather and Kam Williams were the only two running backs in the WPIAL last season that rushed for 2,000 yards. That's impressive!

With Williams now done with high school, there will be a new leading rusher in the WPIAL in 2019. The fact that 13 players from the "Class of 2019" were in the "Top 13" in rushing yards in 2018 shows how special the seniors were last season.

Ben Jackson, running back at West Greene, was ranked 14th in the WPIAL in rushing yards last season. Jackson was a junior last season and is one of the candidates for leading the WPIAL in rushing yards in 2019. Jackson had the most rushing yards as a junior last season with 1,541 yards. He was the only running back in the WPIAL last season that was in the "Top 15" in rushing yards that was not a senior. Perhaps, Jackson can lead the WPIAL in rushing yards in 2019.

Pine-Richland running back, Luke Meckler, has already won 2 WPIAL football championships and 1 PIAA football championship in his high school football career. Meckler also can be the leading rusher in the WPIAL next season. In Meckler's junior year, last season, he was ranked 16th in the WPIAL in rushing yards with 1,492 yards. He was also ranked 2nd in the "Class of 2020" in rushing yards last season.

Penn-Trafford's starting running back, Caleb Lisbon, has not had a lot of recognition from the media; but, I think that will change in the fall. Lisbon was ranked third in the "Class of 2020" in rushing yards last season with 1,329 yards. Lisbon hopes he can get Penn-Trafford to the WPIAL 5A championship game in 2019. The last time him and his Penn-Trafford team played in a WPIAL championship game was in 2017 when they lost to the Gateway Gators in the WPIAL 5A championship game by a score of 21-16.

Don't worry, I did not forget about Gateway running back, Derrick Davis. Derrick could be the WPIAL's leading rusher in 2019 as well. He rushed for 1,205 yards last season and he was only a sophomore. We can still watch Derrick play good football for the Gators for two more years. Davis led all underclassmen (high school freshman and sophomores) in rushing yards in the WPIAL last season.

Now, you might think that it is not important about who leads the WPIAL in rushing yards next season. However, what some of you might not realize is that it can mean a player's world to lead the WPIAL in a statistical category. When Kam Williams realized that he had the most rushing yards in the WPIAL last season, you must believe that he was happy. This feat had to make him feel that "hard work" pays off. Williams accomplishing that feat might have even increased his self-confidence and make him feel more motivated to realize that he can do anything in life.

Saying that you lead the WPIAL in rushing yards is something that college football teams could be impressed about.

Any running back could lead the WPIAL in rushing yards next season, and it will be interested to see who it will be. A running back that had no media attention at all last season might lead the WPIAL in rushing yards next season. Once again, congrats to Kam Williams for being the leading rusher in the WPIAL in the 2018 WPIAL football season.

BY Hilton: bythebossandgoat@gmail.com and Twitter @BYHilton13