Don’t call him ‘Shaky.’ He’s the hero of a 200-point high school football game
BY TOM SHANAHAN
Faith Christian’s Shaikey Hardy sometimes hears his given name mispronounced “Shaky.” That would be a clever nickname for a running back, especially one coming off a Friday night that found the end zone 10 times with 401 yards rushing.
But it’s pronounced Sha-KEY — as in the key to the Patriots surviving a 112-88 shootout over Grace Christian last week in an eight-man football game. Faith Christian (1-1) plays at Cary Christian (0-1) Friday (10/16) at 7 p.m.
“He’s as good a football player as I’ve coached, and I’ve sent five guys to the NFL,” said head coach Russell Weinstein, who had retired from teaching and previous 11-man football head coaching stops at Tarboro, Whiteville and Roanoke Rapids.
Weinstein unretired from coaching when the Rocky Mount private school asked him four years ago to start a program. While visiting the campus, he noticed Hardy during lunch.
“I knew nothing about him,” he said. “I saw a big kid sitting with other eighth-graders. I asked him if he planned to play football, and he said, ‘Yes, sir.’ I told my assistants he won’t be on the JV team.”
Hardy was a 5-foot-9, 150-pounder then. He’s now 6-1, 215-pounder on track to earn All-State honors a fourth straight year for N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association eight-man football.
“I know he doesn’t get exposure playing eight-man, but I’m still shocked he’s not getting more recruiting interest,” Weinstein said. “He’s a diamond in the rough for someone.”
The combined 200 points was unusual even for eight-man football. A more typical high-scoring affair was Grace Christian’s 68-50 win over Faith Christian a year ago. Last week’s game topped that by halftime: Grace Christian led 56-50.
Weinstein found himself in a game of trading touchdowns and fed Hardy the ball 31 times to keep pace.
“I knew I had to step up,” Hardy said. “I told my offensive line, ‘We’re not losing this game; we’ve already lost one.’ They did a really good job. I wasn’t getting touched the first 10 yards.”
Weinstein says Hardy, who doubles as an outside linebacker, has the speed to run 40 yards in 4.58 seconds and strength to bench press 300 pounds and squat 500. Wingate University was the first school to contact him, but the NCAA Division II playoff program dropped out upon learning his size and speed.
“They said they knew they wouldn’t get him,” Weinstein said.
Since then SMU, Cal and Western Carolina are on the trail. Hardy was recently named as an outside linebacker for a national 11-man all-star game, the Blue-Grey All-American High School Game on Dec. 14 in Dallas.
Hardy is non-plussed by those that doubt his ability for his level of competition.
“I’d say you can’t judge a book by a cover,” Hardy said. “It’s about work ethic. I might be down the line in recruiting because of eight-man competition, but don’t judge me because of that.”
He enrolled at Faith Christian as an eight-grader after having played football in seventh grade at Red Oak Middle School in Battleboro, but he said he fit in so well with the small school environment, he never thought about leaving.
“That’s an interesting question,” Hardy said. “I guess I never thought about it because we started a program in ninth grade. It’s been awesome since I came here. Everybody knows everybody.”
The leap from eight-man to college has precedents. The late Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner at Colorado, played eight-man at La Jolla Country Day in San Diego. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch played eight-man in Idaho and was a 2018 first-round draft pick out of Boise State.
It may be the only Hardy adjustment Faith Christian needs to make is with its new scoreboard used for the first time in last week’s home game. It only lights up double-digits. When the game ended, it read Faith Christian 12, Grace Christian 88.
BY TOM SHANAHAN
Faith Christian’s Shaikey Hardy sometimes hears his given name mispronounced “Shaky.” That would be a clever nickname for a running back, especially one coming off a Friday night that found the end zone 10 times with 401 yards rushing.
But it’s pronounced Sha-KEY — as in the key to the Patriots surviving a 112-88 shootout over Grace Christian last week in an eight-man football game. Faith Christian (1-1) plays at Cary Christian (0-1) Friday (10/16) at 7 p.m.
“He’s as good a football player as I’ve coached, and I’ve sent five guys to the NFL,” said head coach Russell Weinstein, who had retired from teaching and previous 11-man football head coaching stops at Tarboro, Whiteville and Roanoke Rapids.
Weinstein unretired from coaching when the Rocky Mount private school asked him four years ago to start a program. While visiting the campus, he noticed Hardy during lunch.
“I knew nothing about him,” he said. “I saw a big kid sitting with other eighth-graders. I asked him if he planned to play football, and he said, ‘Yes, sir.’ I told my assistants he won’t be on the JV team.”
Hardy was a 5-foot-9, 150-pounder then. He’s now 6-1, 215-pounder on track to earn All-State honors a fourth straight year for N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association eight-man football.
“I know he doesn’t get exposure playing eight-man, but I’m still shocked he’s not getting more recruiting interest,” Weinstein said. “He’s a diamond in the rough for someone.”
The combined 200 points was unusual even for eight-man football. A more typical high-scoring affair was Grace Christian’s 68-50 win over Faith Christian a year ago. Last week’s game topped that by halftime: Grace Christian led 56-50.
Weinstein found himself in a game of trading touchdowns and fed Hardy the ball 31 times to keep pace.
“I knew I had to step up,” Hardy said. “I told my offensive line, ‘We’re not losing this game; we’ve already lost one.’ They did a really good job. I wasn’t getting touched the first 10 yards.”
Weinstein says Hardy, who doubles as an outside linebacker, has the speed to run 40 yards in 4.58 seconds and strength to bench press 300 pounds and squat 500. Wingate University was the first school to contact him, but the NCAA Division II playoff program dropped out upon learning his size and speed.
“They said they knew they wouldn’t get him,” Weinstein said.
Since then SMU, Cal and Western Carolina are on the trail. Hardy was recently named as an outside linebacker for a national 11-man all-star game, the Blue-Grey All-American High School Game on Dec. 14 in Dallas.
Hardy is non-plussed by those that doubt his ability for his level of competition.
“I’d say you can’t judge a book by a cover,” Hardy said. “It’s about work ethic. I might be down the line in recruiting because of eight-man competition, but don’t judge me because of that.”
He enrolled at Faith Christian as an eight-grader after having played football in seventh grade at Red Oak Middle School in Battleboro, but he said he fit in so well with the small school environment, he never thought about leaving.
“That’s an interesting question,” Hardy said. “I guess I never thought about it because we started a program in ninth grade. It’s been awesome since I came here. Everybody knows everybody.”
The leap from eight-man to college has precedents. The late Rashaan Salaam, the 1994 Heisman Trophy winner at Colorado, played eight-man at La Jolla Country Day in San Diego. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch played eight-man in Idaho and was a 2018 first-round draft pick out of Boise State.
It may be the only Hardy adjustment Faith Christian needs to make is with its new scoreboard used for the first time in last week’s home game. It only lights up double-digits. When the game ended, it read Faith Christian 12, Grace Christian 88.
