Friday, October 29, 1999
Soccer gives Lebanon star edge
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Nick Singleton.
(Josh Biggs photo)
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Enemies of the fall sports season, football and soccer, may finally have found common ground — Lebanon's Nick Singleton.
Singleton starred on the Warrior football team that won the Division II state football title last fall and this year is he is one of the area's rushing leaders. But last summer, when most running backs had football conditioning dominating their agendas, Singleton stuck with what he's always done — played select soccer.
And he wasn't alone. Josh Eldridge, a 225-pound offensive guard and placekicker for the Warriors, played on the same team.
Singleton considered playing soccer over football as he headed into high school. When he and his second cousin — last year's all-state running back at Lebanon, Kelton Lindsay — would compete while growing up in backyard contests, soccer was the one sport where Singleton would consistently win.
But then Lindsay helped guide him when Singleton put on the pads for the first time in seventh grade and, by the time he was a freshman, he knew he enjoyed the hitting of football.
Not that soccer hasn't helped in that regard, as well. Lebanon coach Dave Brausch said one thing that sets Singleton apart as a runner is his ability to keep his balance even after taking a solid hit.
“It is definitely a help if you get kicked in the legs so often,” Singleton said. “It becomes much easier to maintain your balance when you're hit up high.”
Singleton had his glory in soccer, including helping lead a 3-on-3 team to nationals in 1993. But last year's run to the Division II state football title was extra special.
When defenses in the playoffs keyed on Lindsay, Singleton made them pay. He went over 100 yards rushing in the first and third games of Lebanon's four-game path to the state title, and, in week three, he devastated Miami Trace. Singleton ran 15 times for 210 yards and three TDs in a 38-7 victory.
This year, expectations were high for Singleton and his teammates. Singleton finished with 1,306 rushing yards a year ago and averaged 10.0 yards per carry. With he, fullback Justin Runyan and a handful of big, imposing linemen returning, many around Lebanon assumed the Warriors' potent ground game wouldn't miss a beat.
“We came into the season knowing everybody had high expectations for us,” Singleton says. “We wanted to maintain the same approach as last year, because we knew we still had some good players. I was nervous the first play of the first game this year, but after that, everything fell into place.”
Singleton ran for a school-record 314 yards in the opener against Dayton Colonel White and has not slowed. Heading into tonight's regular-season finale at Mason, he has carried the ball 178 times for 1,720 yards and has 21 TDs. His rushing yards, TDs and yard per carry average of 9.7 all rank among the best in the area.
“He's better than he was (last year),” said Brausch, “and he was pretty good then. He's just gotten a better opportunity to show it this year.”
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