The Schlagle Stallions football team is often overlooked by some in the area. Many of their players are overlooked. But, it was incredibly hard to overlook Stallions Senior Running Back Cornelius "Neil" Ruff last Friday night.
He rushed for 265 yards and 5 touchdowns in their 42-12 win over Southeast. He amassed 215 rushing yards and 4 TD's in the first half alone. That performance notched him this week's Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week Award. Ruff was certainly happy.
.@kckschools @KCKStallions @neilruff_ is @HyVee @41ActionNews #ATHLETEOFTHEWEEK. Read here → https://t.co/DJppLktWxv pic.twitter.com/ljvP6RgPDy
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"I really don't have words. I just wanna thank the man above," says Ruff.
Someone could easily say that monster performance was all him. But, Neil would tell you different.
"[The offensive line was] doing a fantastic job just opening up the holes that needed to be opened," says the Senior Running Back. "I was just finding a way to get through them. I have to give it up to the front five. Without the front five, I couldn't do [anything].
The Offensive Lineman on the team certainly took great pride in his performance.
"It's amazing seeing him going out there and getting yards like that," says Stallions Offensive Lineman Tylen Wallace. "It starts up front with us. And, he was just going through doing what he [does]."
Schlagle Head Coach Dewayne Williams will tell you that Neil is special. After all, he certainly knows talent when he sees it. Williams was a former Iowa Hawkeyes Running Back from 1979-1981. He was also an All-State player from New Jersey. And, anyone will tell you that Ruff is Division I talent, not just on the field, but off of it as well.
"He's deserving of this award for a whole lot of reasons. First of all, he has a 3.8 Grade Point Average," says Williams. "He's one of the nicest guys, nicest kids I've ever coached in my life. And, he works hard."
Neil is getting a lot of attention these days from Division I college football programs like K-State, Kansas and Missouri.
"Hopefully, he can have another breakout game, you know, and he can keep getting these offers coming in," says Williams.
NOTE: You can watch the Hy-Vee 41 Five-Star Athlete of the Week segment every Thursday night during the 10 p.m. sportscast for the entire sportscast.
