Win or lose Friday, amazing runs near end for Glades Day's Kelvin Taylor and American Heritage's Greg Bryan

Wednesday, November 21, 2012
by Jeff Greer

Imagine a worn-out Kelvin Taylor, with a dirtied white Glades Day jersey, sauntering off a high school football field for the last time.

Before the season started, Belle Glade and the rest of the county assumed that scene would take place at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the host stadium for the state championships. But what if it happens on Friday night in Miami, where Glades Day travels to play Dade Christian?

"I haven't thought about that at all," said Taylor,. "That hasn't crossed my mind. Period."

It'd be hard to blame Taylor, Florida's all-time leading rusher, or American Heritage's Greg Bryant, in every sense except total yardage Taylor's equal, if they couldn't come up with that image. Even though their matchups Friday night are among the most difficult in the country -- Heritage plays fellow Class 3A powerhouse Fort Lauderdale-University -- it's probably a lot easier to think of them standing on a champion's podium at the Citrus Bowl.

Both have penned their names into Palm Beach County's history books, with a combined four state championships, more than 16,000 rushing yards and 263 touchdowns.

Taylor's amassed 11,958 rushing yards and 190 touchdowns during his five-year-long race toward numbers gaudier than those found in video games. His name is literally substituted for Glades Day's when conversations turn to how the Gators will fare on Friday nights.

Meanwhile, Bryant has been the starter at Heritage for two years, sharing the backfield last season with Jeremy Gaskins (now at FAU), but has made a big enough impact to feel like he's been around longer. Bryant, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound back with more muscle than he has room for, has even risen high enough to surpass Taylor in some national prospect rankings.

"We've been doing it for a while," Taylor joked.

24/7 Sports recruiting analyst Chris Nee, who worked for Rivals before switching companies, refers to the duo as two of the best running backs in the nation. They're both ranked in the top 15 of any service's national running back rankings.

Taylor's already committed to play at Florida, just like his dad, former NFL star Fred Taylor, who blazed a path out of Belle Glade as one of the original studs from Glades Central.

Bryant, on the other hand, is a candidate for U.S. Army Player of the Year. He's been bombarded by recruiters as one of the nation's top uncommitted prospects, with Auburn, Florida State, Oklahoma and South Carolina possessing the inside track for his services.

"I'd like to see him at South Carolina, in the SEC," Taylor said of Bryant, who has been unavailable for interviews in recent weeks as he focuses on his team's hunt for a second consecutive state title. "That'd be pretty cool."

For all the talk of college and gaudy numbers and the awards that come with those stats, the lasting images of Taylor in his green, yellow and white Glades Day uniform and Bryant in his dark blue and white Heritage jersey are ones that make it awfully hard to think of them outside of high school.

Yet here we are, a day before their regional finals against two supremely talented and fully capable opponents, knowing if this might be the finale of their careers.And even if Friday's games aren't, there's only two more after them.

It's weird isn't it?

"You'd always think about how you have another year after this one, even when you were winning," Taylor said. "Now we don't. God has blessed me and Greg with these skills on the football field. I knew (in eighth grade) if I kept practicing hard, everything I wanted would come true. Everything else would come. So every day is a step closer to that, and now we're down to our last few games.

"Trust me, man, it's weird."

Win or lose Friday, amazing runs near end for Glades Day's Kelvin Taylor and American Heritage's Greg Bryan