Temple senior running back Cavalli Nealy displayed all of those attributes on one play against San Antonio Reagan two weeks ago at Wildcat Stadium.
With the Wildcats trailing 17-13 in the second quarter and at their 41-yard line, the 6-foot, 195-pound Nealy took a handoff and ran past the first Rattlers defender. He cut inside the next one then bounced to the right and broke free from a would-be tackler grabbing at his ankles. Two more defenders tried to stop him near Temple’s sideline, but their attempts were futile as he sprinted for a 59-yard touchdown that sparked the Wildcats to a 40-33 win.
“I want to say I broke three or four tackles. It was the weight room mixed with a little bit of heart,” recalled Nealy, who as a sophomore rushed for 1,845 yards and 22 touchdowns for Academy in 2023. “Every time I touch the ball I want to score, so I’m going to do whatever I can to score.”
That gallop was one of Nealy’s many highlights against Reagan. His 273 yards on 20 carries included a 34-yard touchdown jaunt and a would-be 91-yard TD dash early in the fourth quarter that got reduced to 86 yards after he was penalized for celebrating before he reached the end zone.
Described by first-year head coach Chad President as a football junkie, Nealy has rushed 62 times for 485 yards and four touchdowns in his first season as the primary running back for Temple (4-0), which begins District 12-6A competition against Killee... Click here to read full article
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