Denzel Keyes will join a special class of Kinston athletes tonight when he takes the field as an all-star.
The 6-foot-5 wide receiver was selected to play in the 65th Annual N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star football game in May. He will start tonight at A.J. Simeon Stadium in High Point, while becoming one of 24 other Kinston players who made the roster, including his brother Angelo who played in 2012.
Keyes, also a standout forward from Kinston High School, will join his older brother at North Carolina A&T University this fall to play both sports.
He was also selected to join the East basketball team, but athletes can only choose one sport.
Angelo Keyes said he wasn’t sure exactly why his brother chose to play in the football game over basketball, but he had an idea.
“I’m not sure why,” said Angelo as Denzel was practicing Tuesday evening. “I guess it’s because we were already working out for football, but he was also working out for basketball.”
Their college is in Greensboro, not far from the stadium where the game will be held.
“I know he looks up to me a little bit sports-wise because we both do the same thing,” Angelo said of Denzel. “I’m going to support him and it’s just great to see my brother doing the same thing I did.”
Denzel Keyes totaled 646 receiving yards on 39 catches this season with the Vikings. He had 13 touchdowns, all receiving, while averaging 58.7 receiving yards per game.
The 18-year-old tallied 151 yards on six receptions when Kinston High played Greene Central High Schoolin October.He exploded in the second half with five catches for 128 of those yards.
East head coach Randy Raper of Hunt High School said Keyes’ was more athletic than the staff expected.
“He’s been really great and we knew we were getting a good receiver (and) athletic kid,” he said. “We really didn’t realize how athletic he was. … He’s fearless. He’s been really fun to work with, it’s been a good experience and on top of all that, he’s just a great kid.”
Raper led the No. 15 ranked Warriors to a 13-1 overall record, while the Hunt football team went undefeated in the Big East 3A conference. This season, he will coach Northern Nash High Schoolafter 32 years with Hunt.
He was an assistant coach at the all-star football game in 2002.
“The opportunity is they get to meet a lot of different kids that play at a high level,” said Raper, who noted the schemes players were used to throughout their high school careers can vary during all-star games. “You find out how football smart some of these kids are and how they can adapt to change — all of these guys. Keyes, he’s done a good job.”
The East-West All-Star game kicks off at 8 p.m. today. It wraps up Day 3 of the NCCA coaching clinic, while the four-day workshop features several other East-West games of different sports.
The first all-star football game was in 1949, and according to eastwestallstars.com, more than 3,400 boys have competed in it, including hundreds of NCAA Division I stars.
Sixty-two former players and coaches from Kinston have played in the basketball or football all-star game.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
N.C. Coaches Association East-West All-Star Football Game
Today at 8 p.m.
A.J. Simeon Stadium in High Point
2930 School Park Rd.