Skyler Still does it all as Kelly returns to 2-2 with home win over Kennett

Kelly quarterback Skyler Still, right, throws a touchdown pass through a Kennett defender on Friday, Sept. 20, in Benton, Mo.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

In the jack-of-all-trades football world of Skyler Still, the word “limitation” seems nonexistent.

Still, Kelly’s dynamic senior football star is listed as both the starting quarterback and defensive back on the Hawks’ roster. His impact on both sides of the ball has led to the Hawks starting the season 2-2 and unbeaten at home.

Still set the tone of Kelly’s 34-18 win over Kennett on Friday, Sept. 20 in Benton, Mo., with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter and the Hawks never looked back.

Still threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two against the Indians, including a scoring run that went for 42 yards. Still threw two touchdowns to Grant Burleson for a total of 117 yards.

While it seems that the color of their jersey seemingly determines whether Kelly wins or loses, Still’s impact as a scrambler and a ballhawk (pun intended) is near impossible to overshadow.

In what is his first season playing defense since middle school, Still’s do-it-all, ceiling-free ability prompted head coach Lance Powers to utilize his versatility and play him both ways in 2024.

“It helps when you got a kid like that,” Powers said. “We have multiple kids like that who are versatile playmakers, and that could help with you on both sides of the ball. Hopefully, he has a big impact the rest of the way.”

Defensively, Still has made a splash each week behind a Southeast Missouri area-high two interceptions. He said that he fully embraces his new role and loves the physicality aspect of his defensive back position.

“It’s just new to me and I love defense, I love contact, I love hitting people,” Still said. “I just go out there and try to hit everyone. Being quarterback, I can read the other team’s quarterback pretty well too, like where his eyes are, and in high school, quarterbacks don't really hide where they're looking to throw to. They always usually got one guy they're looking for on a certain play.”

While he becomes an instant star on defense, the fourth-year starting quarterback has had an underwhelming start on the statistical front to open the campaign, throwing for three touchdowns against four interceptions.

While juggling multiple positions adds some extra effort, Still believes that, despite having 28 career starts at quarterback, he is still improving under center and the offense is nowhere near being a finished product. This year’s team chemistry is going a long way, too.

“We’re definitely closer this year,” Still said. “We’re more of a family. We work better together, and we don’t get mad at each other as much as we used to. It just clicks a lot better.”

Still his fellow senior teammates are unfamiliar with starting out slow. Since their freshman season in 2021, Kelly has started out 3-0 or better each year, including a 5-0 mark to open up last season. While the adversity may stand in the way for most teams struggling early on, Still believes that is not the case for him and his squad.

Kennett relied heavily on quarterback Ty Jones, who scored two of the Indians’ three touchdowns on the ground.

On top of his two touchdown receptions, Burleson also snagged a key interception late in the second half to keep the Indians at bay. Ryder Krauss also made key contributions on defense by forcing a safety in the second quarter.

Hunter Carlyle scored Kelly's other rushing touchdown in the second quarter to put the Hawks up 14-0 at halftime.

Kelly will remain home to host Dexter on Friday, Sept. 26, while Kennett (0-4) travels to East Prairie on the same day.