WPIAL & City League Football Player Preview: East Allegheny's Kiyon Delts wants hardware
East Allegheny's Kiyon Delts poses for a picture after a football game.
SOURCE: (TWITTER, @KiyonD3lts)
One in a series on motivated high school football players in the WPIAL and City League.
When Kiyon Delts moved from Chicago to Pittsburgh, before he entered high school in 2017, he knew how much of a life changing experience it would be. Little did Kiyon know that he would be making a name for himself on the football field at East Allegheny.
Kiyon attended West Mifflin Area High School before transferring to East Allegheny High School prior to his sophomore season of football in 2018. After his freshman year, Kiyon had to adjust playing football at East Allegheny. He has done a nice job adjusting and has been making a name for himself at East Allegheny.
This past football season, in 2019, Delts recorded 15 receptions for 234 yards while scoring four touchdowns. With the way that Delts played as a receiver and defensive back during the 2019 season and the work that he has put in during the COVID-19 shutdown, he has been receiving attention and interest from colleges. He currently has offers from Livingstone College, Bethany, and Mount Union.
"I felt great receiving those offers", said Delts, who is also part of the Track & Field team at East Allegheny. "I feel like I hit a little milestone, but I know I have to keep grinding because I want to get bigger and better. Other schools that I have conversations with right now are Washington & Jefferson, Youngstown State and Old Dominion. A lot more Division I Schools follow me on Twitter but just have yet to text me. Joe Moorhead, the offensive coordinator at Oregon, texted me as well."
Even though Delts has only offers from Division II and III schools, the fact that he is having conversations with some Division I schools is a good sign and he is excited. He knows if he wants to be a big Division I football recruit in the future, that he is going to have a big senior year as he has some big goals in mind.
"I am very excited; I’m giving it my all this season. I’m trying to make sure my team is satisfied and my family is proud. There is no room for error this season, it’s my last ride," said Delts, who is also a part of 412 Elite 7 v 7. "Our team's main goal is to get some HARDWARE this season and to be a mentally locked in and winning program."
East Allegheny's football team will move up to 3A after playing in 2A in recent years. Teams such as Burrell, North Catholic, Deer Lakes, and Freeport will be new teams that will be in East Allegheny's section. The move up in classification does not change the winning mindset for Delts and his team for the upcoming season.
"Our team will adjust pretty well; I just know that the team will go out there with a winning mindset and that anything is possible. We listen at every practice, so far everyone has been locked in," said Delts.
East Allegheny quarterback Johnny DiNapoli will be a sophomore in the fall and has a full year of starting experience under his belt from last season. Expect DiNapoli to explode in the near future as he will be expected to continue to complete some passes to Delts in the fall.
"Our relationship [Johnny DiNapoli and Kiyon Delts] is very good. We workout together all the time. You know, the quarterback and receiver relationship that we have is important in trying to be a big dynamic duo this year. We're trying to set a big legacy at East Allegheny," said Delts.
Delts, who stands at 6'1'', credits his parents for helping him becoming a star player for East Allegheny's football team.
"Both of my parents helped, actually my mom instilled that "never give up mentality" when I’m out there on the field and so has my dad. He's just real tough and brings the inner beast out of me and works with me a lot. He’ll never lie to me and tell me what I did good. He always keeps it 100 with me at all times. If he don’t like something, he’s saying that which makes me want to perfect it even more," said Delts.
East Allegheny finished with a 7-4 overall record in 2019 as they lost to Brentwood in the first round of the WPIAL 2A football playoffs by a score of 28-19. With that first round playoff loss, East Allegheny's team is looking for revenge and Delts is part of that group of players that wants revenge.
Delts will know how important each game will be for this upcoming season and before each game he will listen to NBA Youngboy, Jimmy Wopo, Lil Baby, Dababy, Gunna, Lil Durk and Polo G in order for himself to get locked in.
Brentaro Yamane: bkyamane@gmail.com and Twitter/Instagram @BYHilton13