By Joshua Perkins, For the Tribune
PINSON — The Pinson Valley Indians have soared so far this season. They have raced to a 4-2 record, which includes the school’s first win over rival Clay-Chalkville.
One of the reasons Pinson Valley is excelling this season is running back Khymel Chaverst.
The junior has rushed past the half-century mark at midseason, and shows no signs of slowing down now.
His emergence a year ago as a sophomore led to the decision to move Torrey Hendrix to a slot position this season to take advantage of his open-field abilities.
At 5-foot-4 and 171 pounds, he is a freak combination of former LSU running back Trindon Holliday’s height and current Packers running back Eddie Lacy’s power. When he hits the line of scrimmage it resembles a bowling ball striking the pins. His low center of balance and bruising power makes him extremely difficult to bring down with just one tackler.
His latest display saw 86 yards rushing on 18 attempts against Shades Valley. With less than three minutes remaining in the game he pushed 6 yards into the end zone to give his team a 28-25 win.
“I feel like I helped my team, I did what they wanted me to do,” Chaverst said after the game.
After a bye this week Pinson will host Center Point, and Chaverst will be licking his chops for that one. Center Point recently let Clay-Chalkville’s Nic Jones run for 152 yards on 12 carries for three touchdowns, a number Chaverst will certainly be trying to best.
As for the recruiting trail, it is unclear whether Chaverst will receive any offers from a Division I schools. Running backs his size rarely make it to a big college.
Pinson will look to run behind him to the playoffs this season. Three of their last four games are at home, the four teams having a combined record of 9-13. The lone away game will be against a talented Gardendale team in what should be a playoff preview for Pinson.