Keystone's Jacob Shackelford growing as a player and leader

LAGRANGE — With accolades come expectations. At a school like Keystone, with 465 students nestled in a community that intensely follows its athletic programs, those expectations can be overwhelming. Senior quarterback Jacob Shackelford is taking it all in stride. "I don't really pay attention to stuff like that," he said. "I'm more focused on what I can do on this team to make it better. I just want to do whatever I have to do to make myself a better player and a better teammate. "You have to tune everything out and focus on what's important, playing football and getting better every day." Shackelford earned second-team All-Ohio honors last year in Division IV after throwing for 1,034 yards and rushing for 1,134 and 17 touchdowns. This year, in the Wildcats' first three games, the 6-foot, 195-pound Shackelford hasn't missed a beat. In a season-opening 26-20 non-conference loss at Bay, he rushed for a pair of touchdowns and led Keystone to a fourth-quarter lead before the Rockets, Division III playoff participants the last five seasons, stormed back for the win. Cloverleaf wasn't so fortunate in Week 2. The Colts held a 21-7 lead with 5:25 remaining before Shackelford took over. First he scored on a 2-yard run. Then, with just over two minutes left, he scored a 4-yard touchdown and added a 2-point conversion that gave the Wildcats a 22-21 lead. Shackelford put the game out of reach seconds later with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown. Last week he threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the Wildcats' 30-0 rout of South Central. "He's done some amazing things on the football field over the last couple of years," Keystone coach Don Griswold said. "With him we never feel like we're out of a game. You look at that Cloverleaf game … that pick-six was just icing on the cake. "Jacob Shackelford can score from anywhere on the football field, and it's a lot of fun to watch. I'm certainly going to miss him when he's gone. Thank God he's got two younger brothers. He's electric." The electricity on the field aside, one of the biggest areas of improvement for Shackelford has been everything else that surrounds what happens on game day. Griswold said Shackelford's growth and maturity has shown significant improvement from when he came to Keystone as a highly touted freshman. "A lot of young, talented athletes, when they just dominate in the youth leagues and junior high, when everything has come so easy, it can be hard for them to get coached," Griswold said. "Jacob, like a lot of people, struggled with that. "He was a know-it-all and was arrogant. He was always the most athletic kid on the field. "His growth in his mind has been incredible. He's very coachable. He's a pleasure to be around and I love being around him in the classroom and on the football field. He has grown immensely as a human being over the last four years. He's just so much fun to be around, and he wasn't four years ago." This growth and maturity were things Shackelford knew he had to improve, especially heading into his senior season. "I had to get bigger, faster, stronger and become a better leader," he said when asked what he worked on in the offseason. "Maturing isn't easy, especially being a leader when you have to step up and be vocal. Everybody looks at me as a leader because I'm the quarterback. I haven't always had that role and it can be hard, but I'm working with it. "It's pretty easy to get in trouble here. Everybody knows everybody and they know who you are. This year everyone has been smart and doing what they're supposed to do and stayed out of trouble. It hasn't been a problem at all." Shackelford's leadership has been infectious. "He's the most electric guy I've ever played with," Keystone senior running back Dylan Naylor said. "He's also stepped up a lot as a leader. I think that's helped our receivers and everyone else be able to step up in the big moment." Griswold agrees. "It's hard for kids to hold each other accountable in 2019," he said. "They don't want to be led and they don't want to lead. It's so easy to be average. Jacob and some of the others really lead these guys. "Within a team it's one thing when the coaches lead. The coaches leave then everyone does what they want to do. When players lead is when you have the opportunity to do something magical and special." When Keystone (2-1) hosts Clearview (3-0) tonight, first place in the Lorain County League will be on the line. Griswold is looking forward to the test his team will face. "The last four or five years it's worked out that our schedule has been front-loaded," he said. "We've played Bay Village and Cloverleaf and now we're playing Clearview. We enjoy it. We've worked hard to get ready for this very difficult first half of our schedule. "It fueled our summer workouts. It fueled our focus. It's exciting … there's no doubt about it. I think we're ready." Shackelford wouldn't have it any other way. "I think it's going to be a really good game and I can't wait to play someone that's up there football-wise," he said. "It should be a good game." Contact Mike Perry at 329-7135 or macsportstalk@gmail.com.