He may be playing in a different position, but the son of legendary Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey is proving that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree when it comes to football talent and determination.
As reported by the Denver Post, Denver NBC affiliate KUSA and a handful of other Rocky Mountain sources, Christian McCaffrey, the junior star running back of Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian School, led his squad to a fourth consecutive state title, rushing for 114 yards and adding 54 receiving yards to account for a bulk of Valor Christian's total yards in an ugly, 9-0 victory against Cherokee Trail (Colo.) High in the Class 5A title game.
McCaffrey was named the game's MVP because, quite frankly, he was the only player on either team able to make an impact on the offensive side of the ball. Perhaps that shouldn't be surprising; according to the Post, the junior had entered the state final with four-game playoff totals of 628 yards on the ground, another 209 through the air and 16 total touchdowns. That's not too shabby during the toughest stretch of the season.
For McCaffrey, the victory marked a successful conclusion to a third straight high school season, and yet another log on the constant hype fire that has marked his rise into the prep recruiting stratosphere. The running back was always going to be a highly sought after prospect because of his high profile roots, but now he has put himself in a position to conclude a remarkable high school career with touchdowns in each of his prep seasons.
Still, the senior season will almost certainly be the hardest for the younger McCaffrey. The recently completed 2012 campaign was the school's first in 5A, the state's highest classification, which means that 2013 will be a chance for a repeat in 5A. Christian will also get the chance to outdo his older brother, Max, who won three titles at Valor Christian.
For the moment, though, Christian McCaffrey seems to be perfectly happy to savor the most recent state title, particularly after winning his third crown with an MVP performance.
"I think I want to celebrate this one for a while," the youngest McCaffrey told the Post. "It is something else. ... I didn't play well, but the seniors and the defense got it done."
Words of modesty from an MVP. Just another way in which Christian McCaffrey seems more and more like his uber-athletic father each day.
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