COLONY — Crest High senior Jacquez Coleman set the stat sheet on its ear to wrap up his high school football career.
With Coleman leading the way on both offense and defense, Crest rolled through an unbeaten regular season, advancing to the Kansas Eight Man-II state quarterfinals.
Next, Coleman will take his talents to Ottawa University, where he has signed a letter of intent to play collegiately for the Braves.
Coleman was the centerpiece of a star-studded class that took the Lancers from a winless 2018 season to a 6-3 mark and playoff berth in 2019, and 2020’s season to remember. Crest won its first 10 games of the season before being eliminated by eventual state champion Hanover.
He excelled on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
He led the Lancers with a combined six interceptions his last two years of high school, including four as a senior, despite most games not making past halftime.
He also broke up 12 other passes, recovered two fumbles and caused three others.
Offensively, he accounted for 1,600 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns as a senior, including 1,154 rushing yards and a12.8 yards-per-carry average as the Lancer quarterback. He rushed for 17 touchdowns and eclipsed the 100-yard mark seven times.
As a junior, Coleman rushed for 627 yards and seven touchdowns and three for 393 yards and three more scores.
AS AN ASIDE, Ottawa is a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), which split most of its fall schedules because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As such, the school’s games normally scheduled for November were postponed until March, as part of the NAIA collegiate division.
Ottawa, which finished the fall portion with a 4-2 record, resumes play March 6.
Additionally, former Iola High School head football coach Doug Kerr serves as a member of the Ottawa Braves coaching staff. He is in his second year as a volunteer assistant with the team. He also coached at Baldwin, and at Port St. High School and Bronson High School in Florida.
