Kiser plays hard and well for Twin Springs

NICKELSVILLE — There is no doubt what to expect when Isaiah Kiser is on the football field. "Just play as hard as I can. That is all I know how to do," said Kiser, a sophomore running back and linebacker at Twin Springs. "I have worked my butt off all last year and all this year. I have gotten stronger, faster, just been working." That is a necessity at Twin Springs, which has a roster small in numbers, meaning most everyone will play on both sides of the ball, and other positions of need as well. "Here we have 30 guys on the roster," Twin Springs first-year head coach Keener Burke said. "When you lose one player you are losing five because they are on every special teams unit, they are on offense and defense." Don't look for complaints from Kiser, who is still learning to play the game while playing all those positions. "I have not played a whole lot of football," he said, "but I love watching football and just learning the game as I play it." Kiser played it well as a freshman last season, contributing all over the field for the Titans, which finished 6-5, falling to Chilhowie in the opening round of the Region 1D playoffs. "We were pretty solid last year, had a lot of good leaders," Kiser said. "It is going to help me tremendously this year being able to follow how they led the team. We had a pretty good season last year, I think we can do pretty good this year as long as we keep our head down and keep going." Twin Springs not only has a new head coach after Keith Warner became principal at Gate City High School, but the Titans also lost plenty to graduation, including mainstays Clay Ross and Julian Pascual, who, like Kiser, played all over the field. "It is going to be tough to fill those roles, but we can do it. It is just going to be about grit and put our heads down and keep going," Kiser said. "It wears down on you pretty good, especially playing on both sides of the ball, kick return, kickoff, all that, it wears on you. It really does. We don't have the players so you have to play everywhere… "I just live in the weight room, get out here and run sprints, work on different things in practice. Just work." Burke, who played at Gate City and Concord University before becoming an assistant coach at Twin Springs, has known Kiser for much of his life. "He loves football. I have been around that forever," said Burke, whose Titans open the season on Aug. 21 by playing host to Providence Academy from Johnson City. "It is such a small community. It is funny, me and his dad are hunting buddies. When I moved here and started helping out around here, I have seen him grow up. "It is just crazy for me to see him, now he is a captain. I remember him running around playing 'crunch-bunch'. That is what I love about this place is you get to watch these kids go through every phase of life and kind of guide them along the way and that has been special with him especially." The feeling is mutual for Kiser. "I have always liked Coach Burke," he said. "He has pushed us really hard. I think as long as he keeps pushing us we will do good things for him." Especially Kiser, who not only contributed at receiver last season, but also averaged more than 10 yards a carry in limited carries when giving Pascual a break at running back. He hopes for similar success in the season ahead with sophomore quarterback Isaac Horne leading the offense. "I hope so. Whenever I came in last year I feel like I did what I supposed to," Kiser said. "It was hard to follow Julian, he ran for almost a thousand yards last year, but as long as I keep it up I should be fine." Kiser was the first person Burke mentioned at Twin Springs' media day on Wednesday in Nickelsville. "He played slot receiver last year for us as a freshman, had huge numbers. He averaged over 10 yards per carry last year from the running back position," Burke said. "He didn't play there all year, we had Julian, but whenever he was in there he was averaging 10 yards a carry. He has moved to running back in a system where he is going to get more carries in different ways so I am excited about him." Kiser, who will be joined in the backfield by junior fullback Bryce Parks, will also play linebacker with Parks. "We do good, we try to make all the tackles we can," he said. "It is going to be a little different this year missing Julian at outside backer and Clay at safety, having that over the top, but I think we will do fine." Kiser has his eyes on another postseason berth, something the Titans have done in four of the last five seasons, winning a playoff game in two of those years. "We would like to make a run to the playoffs," he said. "Whether or not we do it or not, that is just down the road, we will find out. We should be decent." Nickelsville is a small, close-knit Scott County town with a work ethic to match. Much like the football team. "I love it. We have a great community, all the boys on the team are just tight," Kiser said. "Sometimes it is tough, we all have to play both sides of the ball, but I love it."