[EKUAlum05]

As I think back, I was thinking tonight of myself as a junior in HS watching a middle school game and seeing a young man named Sani Warren absolutely flatten a Letcher County Middle receiver, and jumped up and surrounded by teammates to celebrate, all who clearly loved and respected him.

The Bourbon thread died down and I forgot to post this,, but you reminded me of what I wanted to say.

Last week Sani had...to be blunt... an awful 1st Half until that final scoring drive. He made uncharacteristic mistakes on both offense and defense that nearly put Belfry in a hole. What I love about Sani though is after he had his second fumble (which he fell on but it ended what had been a successful drive on a 3rd and 1).. you could see him on the sidelines clearly being the leader you want. He wasn't putting his head down and pouting, he was talking himself up as he came to the sideline and immediately went to Haywood to discuss what he was seeing out there.

That last drive, followed by the 2nd Half, were a thing of beauty. On offense he made every single adjustment needed and his reads were impeccable. On the option it looked as if Bourbon was bluffing crashing down on the QB when in actuality they were jumping the pitch man. Sani made one play where he stopped on a dime and faked the pitch..then turned it up field for a key run and at that point you knew Sani had them figured out.

Defensively he played awesome coverage on Johnson after that and in the 2nd Half he was only beat that one time when he recovered to strip the ball on a key 3rd Down that they ruled incomplete. He had what should have been the game clinching INT when he made a beautiful one handed catch on an absolute bullet by Pope that you could hear smack his hand.

Belfry doesn't win without Sani doing what he does best and be a leader. That Wes Wilson photo of Sani going head over heels for a TD is the perfect example of how he plays.. laying it on the line for his team even when he doesn't have to. If Belfry wins Friday Sani is the key... last year he made the big error similar to those in the 1st Half against Bourbon (it was only a small part of why Belfry came up short but uncharacteristic nonetheless)...let's see if 2013 is Sani's 2nd Half work of art and the stamp on his unbelievable career.