By David Fong
SIDNEY — One of the most highly successful — and versatile — athletes in recent Sidney High School history will represent the Yellowjackets one final time Friday at the Miami Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star Game.
Recent Sidney graduate Darryl McNeal has been selected to play in the 33rd annual game, which will be played at 7 p.m. Friday at Centerville High School. McNeal — who will be wearing jersey No. 38 for the game — will be playing for the North squad. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound McNeal is slated to play defensive back for the North.
McNeal was a four-time varsity letterwinner and a three-time All-Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division selection for Sidney. He will play at Cincinnati Christian University next fall.
As a senior, McNeal helped lead the Yellowjackets to their first winning record (6-4) in more than a decade. He caught 52 passes for 572 yards and three touchdowns as a wide receiver, while also recording 23 tackles, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble receovery on defense. For his efforts, McNeal was named first team All-GWOC North as a wide receiver.
His junior year, McNeal hauled in 49 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns on offense, while recording 19 tackles and one interception on defense. He also returned a kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown against Greenville in the final game of the season. He was named first team All-GWOC North as a receiver.
McNeal caught 28 passes for 367 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore. He also carried the ball eight times for 99 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he tallied 20 tackles on the season. He was named second team All-GWOC North following the season.
He also saw varsity playing time as a freshman, finishing the season with 18 tackles, one interception and one fumble recovery.
McNeal also was a basketball and track standout during his career at Sidney High School.
As a senior on the basketball court, he averaged 5.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, earning him All-GWOC North special mention honors. As a junior, he avearged 7.1 points, 4.5 points and 1.6 points per game. His sophomore season, he averaged 8.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.
He also was a sprinter on the Yellowjacket track and field team, record a best time of 11.45 seconds in the 100, 23.72 seconds in the 200 and leaping 20-10 in the long jump.
Contact David Fong at [email protected]; follow him on Twitter @thefong
