Crest standout hopes for title run

COLONY — A crowd much too large for the Spartan set of bleachers at Crest High School’s football field will return Thursday evening, with a full-throated cheer for the Lancers as they wrap up the 2012 regular season.
At halftime, senior athletes in football and other sports will be honored, including Kyle Hammond, a four-year standout for the Lancers. Hammond will play in front of the home crowd, perhaps for the final time ever, when Crest hosts Tyro Christian. Kickoff is at 7 o’clock.
“It hit me the other morning as I was walking around the track,” Hammond said. “This might be it. These four years have gone by fast.”
Crest is assured of a playoff berth, regardless of Thursday’s outcome, but will open the playoffs on the road.
Where they play, or against whom, doesn’t matter much, Hammond said.
To reach the ultimate goal — a state championship — he figures Crest will have to go through a collection of the state’s toughest eight-man football teams along the way.
They already have, in many aspects, with a bruising early-season schedule featuring eight-man powers Marmaton Valley, Waverly and St. Paul — who are a combined 23-1 on the season.
In all three games, Crest held a lead or were within striking distance in the games’ final moments.
Much of the Lancers’ success lies at the feet — and hands — of the 6-2, 205-pound Hammond, who starts at running back, but frequently is called on as quarterback in passing situations.
Despite minimal actions in some contests — many Crest games end at halftime because their lead is so large — Hammond may have saved his best for last, rushing for 1,400 yards and passing for 600 more.
“I just want to win,” Hammond said. “Coach does, too. We’re both competitive like that. I’ll play anywhere he wants me to.”
His running style is best described as patiently and deceptively fast and prominently strong.
While he’s always looking for an opening, Hammond is more than willing to take on would-be tacklers, particularly if the first-down marker is in sight.
“There are times you have to do all you can to fight for that extra yard,” he said.

IN THE summer of 2009, observers expected the Lancers to take a step back from past success on the gridiron.
The Lancers had lost a talented senior class, including multi-sport stalwarts Todd Johnston and Brandon Newton.
Head coach Brent Smith knew better.
He was already aware of Hammond’s athletic prowess after watching him perform for Crest Middle School.
“One day Kyle came up to me and was asking about the team’s makeup,” Smith recalled. “He was asking who the starting quarterback was going to be. I told him to look in the mirror.”
Hammond suited up as quarterback, rushing for 186 yards and four touchdowns in his high school debut. Alas, he rushed for only 33 yards in his second game — because he carried the ball only eight times. In those eight carries, he scored three touchdowns in another blowout win.
“Coming in as a freshman is always tough. I don’t care what sport you’re in,” Smith said. “And coming in as a quarterback when you’ve never played the position before is even tougher. But Kyle was up to the challenge.”
Hammond admitted that running back, not quarterback, is his favorite position.
But he relishes the opportunity to help when and where asked. He’s among the team leaders in tackles as a linebacker, he’s usually the one called on to return kicks and punts, and he’s even been asked on occasion to attempt field goals.
 
HAMMOND REALIZED early on he had a competitive streak, be it on the football field, basketball court or even board games.
“If you play me in anything, you better be ready to have to work for the win,” he said with a laugh.
Hammond can point to his parents as influences.
His father, Chad, was a star fullback on Lancer playoff teams in the early 1990s, and often works with his son on deciding offseason workout regimens. Hammond’s mother, Brenna, also played volleyball and basketball for Crest.
Ironically enough, Hammond has remained unscathed despite taking a weekly pounding on the football field, and by deploying the same blue-collar approach to the basketball court.
As a fresman, he suffered a hip injury while running track and field that cut short his year. He went out for track as a sophomore, “but I was having the same issues, so I had to give it up,” he said.

HAMMOND’S drive extends beyond the athletic realm.
He maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average, and recently received notice of a state academic honor. “I can’t remember what it was,” he said sheepishly. “But I got to meet the governor.”
Colleges have taken notice. Defending NCAA Division II football champion Pittsburg State University sent recruiters to Colony to visit. Hammond also has fielded letters from area community colleges and is hoping other recruiters are to follow.
 
BUT FIRST things first.
There’s Thursday’s regular season finale, and then a 210-mile road trip Tuesday to Kiowa to take on South Barber to open the Kansas Eight-Man playoffs.
Smith and Hammond emphasized Crest’s teamwork approach, noting the Lancers are more than a one-man show.
“None of this is possible without a heck of an offensive line and great teammates,” Hammond said.
Smith agreed, citing the leadership of Hammond and his other upperclassmen, such as linemen Jesse Boone and Clayton Miller, Landon Stephens, Brock Ellis, Clayton Miller, fullback Dylan Sedlak and quarterback Jordan Morton.
“Jesse, Kyle and Jordan all came in as freshmen, and they’ve shown our younger players how to prepare,” Smith said. “Our sophomores and freshmen are ready to step up.”
 
AND WHEN football season ends, Hammond will join many of his same teammates on the basketball court. The Lancers are defending substate champs in basketball, too.
“We’ve got a good team coming back. Basketball season should be fun,” Hammond said, “as long as we win.”