By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The Scott football team struggled on offense last season after losing junior quarterback Nelson Perrin, who injured his hand in the opening game and was out of action the last seven weeks.
The Eagles are glad to have Perrin back in the starting lineup this season, but he’s not the only reason the offense is averaging 410 yards per game after its 2-1 start.
His younger brother, sophomore running back Quincy Perrin, is actually the team’s leading rusher with 450 yards and scorer with 30 points.
Last year, Quincy saw some action in varsity games as a freshman. Scott coach Dan Woolley said they tried to limit his carries so he wouldn’t get banged up too much because he had the potential to be a standout player.
The sophomore has been living up to the coach’s expectations, rushing for 104, 135 and 211 yards in the Eagles’ first three games this season. He currently ranks among the state’s top running backs in Class 4A with a rushing average of 150 yards per game.
Quincy’s big brother is also off to a good start. Playing in the wingback position, Nelson has 241 yards rushing and 105 yards in pass receptions for a combined per-game average of 115 yards. The senior captain has also scored four touchdowns and made 13 tackles with one interception as a defensive back.
Nelson is a multi-talented athlete who also earned varsity letters in basketball and track. He was a starting guard on the first Scott basketball team to make it to the semifinals of “Sweet 16” state tournament last March. But football is the 5-foot-8, 170-pound senior’s best sport and he already had recruiting offers from Mount Saint Joseph, Centre College and Kentucky State before the season started.
The Scott coaches put Nelson at wingback this season because he put up some good numbers in that position two years ago. As a sophomore, he had 476 yards rushing and 445 yards receiving on a team that made it to the third round of the Class 4A playoffs and finished with a 10-3 record.
“We feel like the best thing is to get (Nelson) in space,” coach Woolley said in a preseason interview. “He’s one of those guys who is pretty elusive and hard to tackle one-on-one in space. He’s the kind of guy we need to get touches for big explosive plays.”
Scott finished 2-9 last season without Nelson in the lineup for the last seven weeks. The Eagles have a chance to exceed last year’s win total Friday in a home game against Conner (1-1).
Last year, Conner whipped Scott, 60-8, in a game where the Eagles managed to get just 151 total yards. The rematch should be much closer, but Conner is coming off an impressive defensive performance.
In a 13-6 loss to Simon Kenton last Friday, Conner limited the Pioneers to 165 yards. That game was played in the rain on a sloppy field. Scott has a synthetic turf field and there’s no rain in Friday’s forecast right now.