And now, a word about Jawan Grey.

 

Admiral.

 

You could describe Grey as a talented player, a hard worker, one of the leaders of his team. But in a season in which Danville is attempting to redefine itself, perhaps the best way to describe him is to say that no one has defined what it means to be an Admiral quite like Grey.

 

Grey, a senior running back-defensive back, isn’t the only player who has done good things at Danville this season, though he has been one of the most productive players for the Admirals. And he probably isn’t the only player who has a grasp of the history and tradition of Danville football and his place in it, though he surely does.

 

But Grey seems to be as good an ambassador for Danville football as anyone on the current roster, someone who appreciates what the Admirals have done in the past and is doing his best to make sure they are still relevant for the forseeable future.

 

Consider, for instance, what Grey said Sept. 27 after what might have been the Admirals’ most important win of the season, a 48-34 victory at Green County 48-34 that followed back-to-back blowout losses and an open week during which half a dozen or so players left the team.

 

“We needed to send a message that Danville football is not dead,” Grey told The Advocate-Messenger after that game. “We’ve all heard the talk that this is not like past Danville teams. Our seniors are not going to let this thing collapse.”

 

Certainly, nothing has collapsed at Danville, though it seemed before that win as though it might. The Admirals are 5-4, and tonight Grey and his fellow seniors will play what could be their final game at Admiral Stadium, a game against Frankfort that will determine whether they open the Class 2A playoffs at home or on the road.

 

Grey and everyone else on the team must have been apprehensive about what lay ahead for them last winter when longtime coach Sam Harp resigned and Clay Clevenger, one of Harp’s former players, came from Henderson County to take his place. Grey said before the season that the changes Clevenger introduced required some adjustment on the part of the players, but he also embraced the discipline and commitment the new coach required.

 

Clevenger said after the win at Green that Grey had taken ownership of the team, citing him as an example of “players who want to represent the program the right way and will play hard.”

 

Grey, a three-sport star (football, basketball, track and field) made some of the biggest plays in that game, rushing for a career-high 297 yards and four touchdowns, catching a couple of passes and getting an interception. And he has made some of the biggest plays all season long. He surpassed 1,000 rushing yards last week and currently has a total of 1,047 yards and 14 touchdowns, with two games of more than 200 yards, he is the team’s No. 2 receiver and has two touchdown catches, and he has made a number of big defensive plays as well.

 

It’s impossible to know what the future holds for Danville, either in the remaining games of this season or in the years to come. Grey won't be on the field beyond this fall, but if the Admirals continue to thrive and contend for championships, he’ll deserve at least some of the credit for helping the program stay competitive during an important time of transition.

Good work, thegeneral! I've enjoyed watching Grey play at Danville. He's very good and fits the mold of some of the old Danville stars of the 80s and 90s.