Massillon Perry running back’s dad, Keith Sims, grew up in Youngstown

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Keishaun Sims has been described as a quiet leader, a person of few words.

So, when the Massillon Perry senior running back was asked if he had a favorite memory from an eventful season, one that has seen the Panthers reach the Division II championship game just two years after going 0-10, he paused.

He let the silence hang, “No, they’re all good. I like them all.”

Sims laughed at his own response but has reasons to smile after being named Thursday as the 2015 Associated Press Mr. Football for Ohio in voting by a media panel.

Sims father, Keith Sims, grew up in Youngstown and Keishaun spent part of his childhood living in Austintown and playing for the Little Falcons. Perry head coach Keith Wakefield coached at Austintown Fitch in the 1970s.

Keishaun enters the game against Cincinnati La Salle (12-2) Friday at 8 p.m. in Ohio Stadium with 3,108 yards and a 7.9 yards average for 393 carries along with 43 touchdowns this season.

He also is a cornerback and returned an interception for another score.

“He doesn’t come off for anything,” Perry athletics director Scott Campbell said. “He plays every down — offense, defense, special teams.”

Wakefield knows the standard response when wondering if Sims gets tired.

“He always says, ‘I rest at halftime,”’ said Wakefield, who coached at Austintown Fitch in the 1970s. “He has this focus and willingness to finish every play. A lot of kids go down on a play. He refuses to go down and continues to run. It’s that mentality. There’s no let up in his game, none. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Despite his slight build (6-0, 170), Sims runs the ball 28 times a game out of the wing-T offense where running is always the preferred choice. He ran for a school-record 349 yards in the regional semifinals.

“We put in a lot of work, the line puts in a lot of hard work,” Sims said. “The coaches are always there to help us. They’ve taught me a lot about how to run.”

Sims will square off Friday against the player who finished second in the Mr. Football voting, La Salle’s senior running back Jeremy Larkin.