Travis Lee “just wanted to be remembered” at New Kent High School. There’s not much chance they’ll ever forget him.
Oh, this is good. This is terrific. This is rich.
Travis Lee says the only thing he’s ever wanted at New Kent High School is to be remembered. He set that goal after his freshman year, when George Jones was the Trojans’ star.
Lee got his shot the next season and has been creating memories ever since. He goes into tonight’s final regular-season game at Bruton as the Bay Rivers District’s No. 2 rusher with 1,148 yards and a district-best 18 touchdowns. He has 72 touchdowns and more than 7,500 all-purpose yards in his career.
Remembered? What do you think?
“I saw how George reacted after getting 1,000 yards my freshman year,” said Lee, a 5-8, 180-pound senior. “I saw how good it made him feel. I wanted to feel that way, too. I just wanted people around here to remember what I’d done.”
They’ll remember even better if New Kent beats Bruton tonight and Park View upsets Greensville in the Southside District. That scenario puts New Kent in the Region I, Division 3 playoffs with York, Poquoson and Nandua. Bruton gets the spot if it beats New Kent and Greensville loses. If Greensville wins as expected, it gets the spot.
“We can’t worry about what happens in that game,” Lee said of Greensville-Park View. “We have to do our own thing. We have to play New Kent football and win the game we’re playing. I don’t even think we’ll know anything (about the playoffs) until our game is over. In some ways, this will be our hardest game of the year.”
New Kent coach Fred Birchett was stunned when he compiled Lee’s stats. He expected something in the 3,800-4,000 range rather than almost 5,000 rushing yards for Lee’s career. He had 500 as a freshman and 1,716 as a sophomore, then 1,483 last year and 1,148 with at least one game remaining this year. He has scored rushing, receiving, returning kickoffs and returning punts.
Even though the numbers are slightly down, Birchett thinks this has been Lee’s most impressive year.
“We lost most of our linemen after last year, guys who’d played two or three years,” he said. “Travis’ yards this year have come harder than his yards in the past. I’ve always said anybody can get yards with a good enough offensive line. It’s the great back who gets yards when there aren’t any holes.
“Early in the year he was getting tackled right off the bat. He’s still getting hit, but he’s carrying people with him. When he gets 80 or so yards against good teams, it’s like getting 300 yards against some other teams. He’s stepped up his game and taken responsibility for our offense. And the thing is, he’s about clueless when it comes to his stats. He has no idea how good he’s been.”
Lee admits to some early-season frustrations as his young line struggled with its blocking assignments. His season-high 297 yards and five touchdowns against Jamestown last week speak to its improvement.
“I appreciate everything they do for me,” he said. “I thank them after every play. Like all good teams and all good players, we’ve gotten better as we’ve gone along.” *
