H-S Athlete of the Week: Linkon Keller, Connellsville
Name: Linkon Keller
School: Connellsville
Class: Junior
Sport: Football
Keller’s week: Keller scored a trio of second-half touchdowns in three different ways to help Connellsville rally for a 28-13 win at Latrobe, avenging a 41-0 home loss to the Wildcats a year ago. The Falcons trailed 13-7 in the third quarter when Keller came up with the biggest play of the game, a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown that put his team ahead to stay after Hunter Brown’s extra point. Keller added an 18-yard touchdown run and then a game-clinching 72-yard punt return for a score, both in the fourth quarter. “He has an uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time,” said Jace McClean, one of Connellsville’s trio of head coaches. “Friday’s game gave everyone a closer look at what we see everyday during practice. He made some key plays when the team needed it most. To score three different ways in a whole season is tough, but to do it in one half is really special.” Keller, the 16-year-old son of Nicholas and Bethany Keller of Vanderbilt, recalled the three key TDs.
Game-changing play: Connellsville fumbled the ball away on the possession after Latrobe had taken the lead and Keller could sense his team needed a lift. He provided it with his pick-six. “The first drive of the game we scored a touchdown and the momentum was all ours then,” Keller said. “Then they scored and scored again to take the lead and I felt it kind of slipping away. But after that interception everyone started to believe again that we can do this, we can win this.” Keller explained how the play unfolded. “Two wide receivers were split out. I was over top the second one about 10 yards off. As soon as the quarterback dropped back I saw the receivers both running go ball so I was getting back. I watched the quarterback pull up and throw it and I knew he wasn’t going to be able to get it deep so I fell off a little bit, he threw it too short and I undercut it. As soon as I caught it I just saw grass so I knew nobody was getting me.”
Breaking free: Keller then gave his team some breathing room with his touchdown run. “We got the ball in pretty good field position and a couple running plays got us close,” Keller said. “I got the ball on a down and I held up to let the blocks form, found a hole and shot through it. A couple guys got their arms on me but I wasn’t going to let anyone bring me down and kept going into the end zone.”
Exclamation point: Keller’s final TD all but sealed the victory but it was the Falcons’ defense that set it up, he pointed out. “After the kickoff I told our guys if we stop them here we win the game, I promise you that,” Keller said. “We did. They went three-and-out and punted it.” Keller thought he had returned a punt for a touchdown earlier in the game but was ruled out of bounds. “After that I told my teammate Jayden Mickens I’m going to get one,” Keller said. “That ball was kicked short but it bounced toward me and I wasn’t going to let it go. I picked it up and there were about three or four jerseys in my face so I went left first, then I cut right at the sideline and after that it was a clear field except for the punter. I juked him and went inside to the left and I was free.” His teammates mobbed him. “It was surreal, one of the best feelings I ever had afterwards, everybody running up to me and then once I got to the sideline everybody was congratulating me,” Keller said.
Versatile leader: Keller plays H-back on offense from where he is used in a variety of ways, and is leader on defense where he plays strong safety and is adept at anticipating what play is coming. “It’s kind of up to me,” Keller said of defensive adjustments made before the snap. “Me and Jayden – this is his first year of playing safety – know each other’s jobs and we’ll talk and make sure we’re on the same page on who’s going where, and I always check our alignment and if I see some guys are misplaced I’ll try to line them up in the right spots.” McClean praised Keller for his demeanor. “He is a natural born leader both on and off the field,” McClean said. “Even though Linkon is just a junior, everybody in the locker room respects him. He is always cool as a cucumber. Every once in a while I’ll get a smile out of him, but most of the time he is in the zone and all business. He never gets rattled and his leadership is exactly what we need, especially in high-pressure situations.”
Head coaching threesome: Connellsville has a unique situation with three head coaches as McClean, Chad Lembo and Mick Lilley all work together to guide the team. Keller is fine with that set-up. “I respect all my coaches and listen to all of them, whether they’re one of the head coaches or an assistant coach or whoever,” Keller said. “I think they all do their jobs really well.”
Three-sport Falcon: Keller plays sports during the entire school year. “I also play baseball and basketball,” he said. “Of the three, I definitely like football the best but I enjoy whatever is in season. I always try to do the best I can at whatever sport I’m playing at the time.”
College plans: Keller would like to further his academic and athletic careers in college but hasn’t made a decision yet on where that will be. “I definitely want to do athletics in college and want to get my name out there so some coaches or scouts will look at me and know who I am,” Keller said. “I’ll see where it goes from there.”
Siblings: Keller has two older sisters, Raigan, who is a freshman at West Virginia, and Ashlyn, who is a senior at Connellsville. Raigan participated in soccer, cross country and track and field in high school.
– Compiled by Rob Burchianti