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WISE, Va. --
Brandon Osborne is hoping for big things this fall for the J.J. Kelly High School football team.
His senior season certainly got off to a rousing start.
Osborne raced 70 yards for a touchdown on Kelly’s first offensive play during a controlled, three-team scrimmage involving the Indians, Castlewood and Northwood on Friday night at Carroll Dale Stadium.
Osborne finished with 111 yards on six carries in the event, which consisted of multiple 10-play series from each team’s offense.
The 5-foot-10, 154-pound speed burner showed his explosiveness on his TD run as he hit the hole hard and then outraced the Castlewood defense to the end zone.
"He’s a leader," said Kelly coach B.I. Salyers. "He leads by example and he’s going to be a heck of a running back for us."
Osborne showed flashes of brilliance last season as he rushed for 10 scores and contributed on defense.
However, his 2009 season ended in disappointing fashion. He suffered a shoulder injury during Kelly’s final regular season game against J.I. Burton.
The ailment caused him to miss the Indians’ Region D, Division 2 playoff loss to Lebanon.
"That was bad," Osborne said. "I was pretty mad there."
On Friday, he was glad to be putting on the pads again.
"I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I got hurt," Osbrone said. "I’ve just been working all summer, getting in shape and trying to get back into football shape."
It was a productive night for Kelly, which is looking to build off last season’s 8-3 showing and is coming off consecutive playoff berths.
Justin McGinnis and C.J. Short caught touchdown passes as junior quarterback Anthony Bentley was on target.
"The thing I was impressed with was that we had some kids step up that need to prove themselves a little bit," Salyers said. "But we’ve still got a long ways to go. It’s a long season and we’ll see what happens."
Kelly’s defense was also solid, not yielding a touchdown. Robert Smith, who didn’t play last season due to disciplinary issues, returned two interceptions for scores.
"He was one of those kids that came out tonight and played well," Salyers said.
Castlewood and Northwood failed to score, but both saw some positives.
Drew Young, a 6-foot, 210-pound junior defensive lineman, recorded two sacks to lead Castlewood.
"Drew’s going to be a big part of our offensive line and defensive line," Scammell said. "We have him and Clayton [Mullins] at the [defensive] ends. They’re going to make some big plays this year."
Meanwhile, Northwood struggled at times with its new offense.
The Panthers have scrapped the single-wing for the I-Formation and received several nice runs from Dustin Clear. Defensively, Michael Lester had some big stops for the Panthers.
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