Just outside of Baxley at the intersection of U.S. Highway 341 and Highway 121 is Surrency, a small town of about 200 residents in Appling County. There you will find one of the fastest middle school quarterbacks in Southeast Georgia. Keyshawn Walker is an eighth grader who led the Appling County Middle School Rams to an undefeated regular season this year. At 5’9″ 134 pounds, he uses his speed at quarterback, free safety and corner for Coach Jeremy Smith’s team. “This year, I kept my head and team in the game,” Walker said. “I stayed focused and made big plays when I needed to.”
Big plays come naturally to Walker who is blessed with football abilities: Speed and strength. “He has breakaway speed,” Coach Smith said. “Once he gets in the clear it is tough to catch him.” He is also tough to bring down, fighting for extra yards whenever he can. It’s those abilities which Coach Smith says the Rams will miss when Walker moves up to high school next year.
The son of Natasha and Curtis Walker, Keyshawn holds a grade point average of 89 and enjoys math in the classroom. Like many of his friends, he is also fond of the roller coaster that visits Baxley with the fair each year. His plans are to one day play professional basketball or football, hopefully for the New England Patriots. “Whichever picks me first,” he says adding the his favorite college team is the Alabama Crimson Tide. A soft-spoken young man, he immediately became a team leader for Appling County Middle School. “He’s a great kid. Very humble,” said Coach Smith. “He’s not a ‘rah-rah’ type of guy. He’s a leader by example. He’s very quiet and reserved when he’s playing.”
Walker is a two sport star at ACMS, playing center on the Ram’s basketball team, too, where he averages 10 points per game for the team that took the conference title last year. But it is football where he has stood out this fall, leading the Rams to an undefeated season on the gridiron in 2016 over a six game schedule against Brantley, Long, Jeff Davis, Bacon and Martha Puckett Middle and Arthur Williams Middle Schools of Wayne County. That pitted ACMS against Pierce County Middle School in the semifinals which the Rams won 34-8. The win gave the Rams a spot in the Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic Association’s championship against the Waycross Middle School Bulldogs, which they lost by just two points.
Looking back, Walker started playing football and basketball as soon as he could walk. By seven-years-old he was playing in the recreation leagues where he excelled until he moved to middle school ball in seventh grade. In 2014 he led his rec team to the state championship played in Screven County, a game he calls his most memorable so far. He joined the ACMS team last season and started working to get better. He usually stays close to home, going to his father for advice on playing, but he has also found guidance at school. “Coach Smith and my basketball Coach Terrence Gibson have really helped me improve between the both of them,” Walker said.
He realized that this season would be special during the preseason scrimmage against Pierce County Middle School when he faked a handoff and found a hole to run a 40-yard touchdown to get things started. A feared offensive threat on every play, Walker’s favorite part of the game is defense. “You get to have fun and tackle people,” he said. For now, Walker plans to play for the Appling County High School Pirates next year. It may be just in time as the Pirate’s standout quarterback, Keelan Crosby, is graduating in 2017, potentially opening a spot for Walker to come in as a freshman. “I think he can play quarterback in high school,” Coach Smith said. “He also played free safety for us but I can see him playing quarterback.”
With football season at an end, Walker is now turning his attention to basketball where the Rams are the defending Southeast Georgia Middle School Athletic Association champions. His goal: To win another conference title. After that, he will prepare for what looks to be a standout freshman year in football.
SE-RS-12.16-Walker
Keyshawn Walker
Appling Middle School
The Surrency Flash
