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Talented Parkersburg South wide receiver Cyrus Traugh used to be "the guy who had trouble remembering plays."
That's not the case, anymore.
Gifted with an un-canny feel for the football field, along with the ability to make magic happen, the highly competitive Traugh now lights up anywhere he goes.
Whether playing wide receiver or "ballin' out" at defensive back, the Parkersburg South junior turns heads and makes people take notice.
"He is executing and doing really well," Parkersburg South head coach Nate Tanner said.
No kidding!
On the morn of the Patriots' matchup with the Big Reds, Traugh leads the team in receiving yards (325) and interceptions (2). Actually, better make that receiving yards, interceptions, and spectacular, mind-blowing, game-saving interceptions.
Perhaps, that last one needs a little context.
Let's go back to the first game of the year: Capital vs. Parkersburg South.
With the Cougars holding the ball at Parkersburg South's 3-yard line on fourth down, they opted to go for it, trailing 6-0. South brought pressure on the back end and went man-to-man on receivers.
Traugh ended up guarding receiver Brayden Slack. Capital quarterback Jacqai Long rolled from the pocket, before lofting a pass to Slack. Not so fast. "Cyrus just broke on the ball and made the pick then he had enough of a mind to take a knee in the end zone," Tanner said.
Sure, it came within the opening minutes of the contest. Remember, though, the Patriots only won the game in a 29-28 shootout.
So, stopping Capital from those seven points really made things easier for South the rest of the way. Every little detail wasn't going to be a potential big-time mistake.
It made the Cougars comeback a little bearable. No one on the Patriots need panic. Heck, as it turned out, the Kanawha County team had to go for two if they wanted to walk out with the win. This end-game squeeze was possible as Traugh's teammates set up a fortunate opportunity and he capitalized.
Yet, that's only one of many impressive plays from the Patriot.
Another one, this time from his receiver position, happened against Woodrow Wilson last Friday. He showed the jets and route running on his 52-yard touchdown haul in the third quarter. Seeing a Cover 0 defense (no safety in the middle of the field), Traugh had one job to do to score: Beat the defender.
What happens next?
"Cyrus blows past the kid on the inside and Robert (Shockey) laid the ball up and Cyrus caught the ball and ran it in," Tanner said. "That play showed he's getting better at running routes and mastering that part of his craft. Running routes is more fluid than just running to a spot as fast as you can. You need to be able to make routes look vertical and break off on a dime. Cyrus does that. He's very tough to cover."
How tough?
"If Cyrus is getting covered man-to-man there's a very high chance, he is going to win whatever route he runs. You can tell he played running back as a kid. Once he gets the ball in his hands, he has a very good feel for what he is doing," Tanner continued.
But there's more to Traugh then just his crisp route running and instincts that make his rise much more valuable. He's averaging 131 receiving yards per game, returning kicks, and taking the ball as a rusher at times, too. Of course, his duties also include acting as a decoy and bringing dynamic No. 2 receiver Triston Walker back up to full speed after a return from injury.
All of these jobs, well, they could be seen as pretty exhausting, but ultimately, very rewarding.
You see, off the field, he's becoming much more than the top kid teams watch out for in the Patriots' offense. Mention of him for the Randy Moss Award (given by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association to the best receiver) or the Carl Lead Award, well, it's locally starting to take off.
All of this, of course, stands out because Traugh owns one more year of eligibility after this. So that means, Shockey and he are just getting started, which leads to the last point...
The scariest part about Traugh? Tanner doesn't think he's reached his peak, yet.
"I think he still has a lot more in him," he said. "We are starting to see what his potential is but I think he can get even better. He's a dynamic kid and we are glad he is on our team."
Contact Joe Albright at jalbright@newsandsentinel.com.