High School Sports

By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer

It's media day out in the middle of nowhere -- better known as Cayuga High School -- and the Wildcats are getting ready to take their team photo.

A star is in the making among the 22 players on the varsity, but Cayuga is far from a one-man show.

But this one young man, junior running back Traylon Shead, is a special talent and everybody knows it.

Wide receiver Caleb Summerville, a cousin, joked that he wanted to be photographed next to Traylon, whom he said was "going to be a multi-millionaire" someday.

Offensive lineman Tramon Shead, Traylon's twin and also athletically gifted, called Summerville a traitor.

Cayuga head coach Tommy Allison felt like Traylon had a chance to be a star last season, and he was correct.

The 6-2, 207-pound Shead rushed for 2,810 yards and 33 touchdowns on 247 carries as a sophomore. He was named first-team all-state in Class A.

"I think I've handled (the attention) pretty good, but I try not to let all of it go to my head," said the soft-spoken Shead, who added that he doesn't want to come across as a showboat.

"I just try and stay humble and just let my team know that I'm not trying to outshine anybody -- that we're just all the same."

With Shead's combination of size and speed, comparisons with current Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson are inevitable. And also unfair, says Allison, who coached Peterson at Palestine High School as the offensive coordinator.

"(Traylon's) fast but he's not a world-class sprinter," Allison said. "It's not a fair comparison."

Traylon comes from an athletic family -- and one that also stresses academics.

Tramon, an offensive tackle, is a specimen at 6-3, 220 pounds. He lost 20 pounds of baby fat in the offseason and put it back on in muscle, Allison said.

They have two older sisters who excelled in basketball. Shead played collegiately at UT Tyler, and Courtney is a junior at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.

Traylon looks up to his sisters.

"Everybody has been through what you're going through now," Traylon said. "They give you good advice on how to handle certain situations. Everybody is real close in our family and we just talk about everything."

The Sheads' father, Bill, is the principal at Cayuga High School. That means the two boys have to stay on their toes.

"We try not to think about it, but we know we have to stay focused in the classroom and stay out of trouble because it will always leak back to him and we'll hear about it at school and at home," said Traylon, who lives about five miles from the high school in Cayuga.

Traylon rushed for at least 100 yards in every game last season except against Alto, which held him to 72 yards in a 51-0 pasting of the Wildcats.

He topped 300 yards against Cushing, Cross Roads and Lovelady, and ended the year with 143 in a playoff loss to Maud.

With so much talent returning, the Wildcats are picked to finish second in District 20-A behind nemesis Alto, which has won back-to-back state titles.

"We know we can be like (Alto), so we just try to work hard in the weight room and in practice so we can get there," said Shead, who has targeted 3,000 yards as a rushing goal along with Cayuga winning a state title.

Cayuga's Traylon Shead rushed for 2,800 yards as a sophomore. He was held under 100 yards in only one game last season.
(Staff Photo By Joe Buie)