DRANEVILLE —
They’re Y-lo and Z to their teammates.
For opposing coaches, they’re No. 21 and No. 1.
But possibly the most fitting set of names for Marion County’s running back duo of Ykeem Wells and Zamir Shelton goes back to their eighth-grade year when middle school coach Bill Ewing deemed them “Thunder and Lightning.”
That was the first year the two played together as the Eagles won the middle school championship.
Now seniors, they are ready to do it again.
“I think we’re going to do it again,” said Wells. “Hopefully, we’ll go out there and compete and play hard. It first starts with the line. We’ve got to give the line all the credit because without the line we wouldn’t be breaking all the tackles and all the rushing yards we would get.”
Through the first two games, Wells has rushed for 292 yards and a touchdown while Shelton has 268 yards and seven touchdowns. They go for more tonight when they play Schley County.
“Schley’s been our rival since Tri-County has been together,” said Wells. “We’ll go there and contribute like we did last week and hopefully come out with a victory.”
Wells and Shelton combined for 2,194 yards and 23 touchdowns last year and are on pace for 2,300 yards and 40 touchdowns this season.
Coach Mike Swaney said he’s had a trio of backs that rushed for 1,000 yards in a season in 1997 at Taylor County, but these two rate right there with them.
“As far as a good combination, Ykeem’s a good power runner and blocker, and with the combination of speed of Zamir, they’re right up there with some of the good ones I’ve been around,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier. We can ball control if we want to or big play you if we want to.”
Shelton said Wells has been an inspiration to him. Ever since watching Wells during recreation football, Shelton wanted to follow in his footsteps.
“He inspired me from the beginning,” said Shelton. “Just the way he ran the ball; he ran hard every play. I just kind of try to follow behind him. From then on (eighth grade), they let me start with him. They put him at fullback and put me at tailback. We both had over 1,000-something yards, over 20 touchdowns.”
Wells has been a three-year starter for the Eagles while Shelton came on last season after Allen McKay graduated. Wells has the power to run over opponents, and Shelton is glad he doesn’t have to defend him.
“He brings it every run, and I think the defense gets tired of tackling him,” said Shelton. “We used to hit years ago, but now I’m kind of glad we don’t because he’s so big. He won’t knock me out, but he’ll give me some thunder. If he came at me, I’d have to avoid him. I wouldn’t go straight up with him. He’s a monster; I don’t like that.”
Swaney said Shelton can be just as hard to bring down as Wells.
“Zamir’s a guy that’s very powerful in the lower body,” he said. “He can actually out-squat Ykeem. He’s a lot harder to tackle than you’d think. Then of course, if he gets a step on you, he can go the distance.”
Sometimes, teammates want to outdo the other each week, but that’s not the case with them. They will block for each other, and they don’t care how many yards the other will have by the game’s end.
“They never complain about who’s running the ball or getting carries,” said Swaney. “That’s a good thing for. Sometimes that can turn into a competition and not a healthy competition. They’re out there doing their jobs.”
Center Bryan Jaynes said they make the offensive line look good when the statistics come out.
“They can hit the holes so fast and everything,” he said. “We don’t have to hold our blocks for that long. They’re super strong and don’t stop moving their feet. That makes them hard to tackle right there. They always have fresh legs in there just about. Everything’s a lot faster, so you can go to the second level easier. They always run; I couldn’t do that. I can’t run as much as they can.”
Wells has already shown some appreciation for the line, bringing the offensive line Gatorade to practice last week. Jaynes said it’d be nice of Shelton to provide the steak next time.
Shelton just might oblige his teammate’s request.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” said Shelton. “I’ve been planning something. I want to do it at the end of the season. I want to do something big for them.”
The Eagles hope when Shelton does plan his surprise, they’ll be celebrating a successful season and a state championship. But a lot of teams may have something to say about that.
Local Sports
Related Photos
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Marion County senior running backs Zamir Shelton (1) and Ykeem Wells (21) have already combined for 550 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in two games this season. Both were 1,000-yard rushers last season, and the tandem hopes to win a championship as they did in middle school. Chris Whitaker/ATR
Thunder and Lightning: Marion duo hard to stop
Shelton, Wells on pace to rush for a combined 2,300 yards, 40 TDs
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