Traynor leads tight Touchdown Club race
What a difference a year makes. In 2005 after three games Mapletown running back Ryan Geisel was already running away with the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club race.
This year is a much different story as the top seven players are within 10 points of each other.
Frazier wide receiver Jim Traynor took over sole possession of the TD Club lead after pulling in a pair of touchdown passes and a two-point conversion toss from quarterback Joe Kulikoski in a 44-20 loss to Fort Cherry.
Commodores coach Lew Sweitzer is happy to see Traynor receive a bit of recognition.
“Jimmy’s a good athlete, but you can attribute a lot of his success to hard work,” Sweitzer said. “He comes to play every day, for practice and for games. He’s worked so hard to get better it’s unbelievable, and it paying off because he’s having a great year.”
Traynor now has three touchdown receptions and two two-point conversion catches this season, and has also found the end zone on interception and fumble returns. That gives the 6-foot, 168-pound senior 34 points, two more than Beth-Center running back Chris Stay (32) and four more than Waynesburg Central quarterback Troy Cree (30).
This marks the first time in the TD Club’s brief history that the top three has been made up of a quarterback, running back and wide receiver.
Four players are locked into a tie for fourth place. Waynesburg’s Clint Podish, Connellsville’s Lance Straughters and California’s Donte Valentino each jumped up to 24 points after Friday’s games, and Mapletown’s Ashley Menear joined them with a big day on Saturday.
Beth-Center’s Ryan Butka has 20 points and is followed by a group of five players with 18 points apiece.
The logjam includes Frazier’s Vince Conti and Kulikoski, Carmichaels’ Jeremy Ganocy and Logan Phillips, and Albert Gallatin’s Nate Turner.
Each of those players has three touchdowns, except Ganocy, who came about his total in a much more versatile way. The Mikes junior has scored two touchdowns, kicked four extra points and tallied one two-point conversion.
For a complete rundown of the Herald-Standard Touchdown Club standings, turn to page C2.