Blue Jay senior Liam Frey reflects on 1,000-yard season

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Nov. 8—JAMESTOWN — Liam Frey couldn't quite make out what was being said over the loudspeaker during the Jamestown High School football team's final game — something about him and 1,000 yards.

He figured it out once he got to the sidelines.

The announcer had just told the crowd gathered at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium that Frey, a senior running back for the Blue Jays, had hit 1,000 yards rushing that season.

"I was in the game when they said it over the loud speaker," Frey said. "I heard a snippet of it through my helmet, but I didn't know at what point I would hear it. I realized I got (1,000 yards) when I heard the student section saying my name. That was a pretty special moment for me."

Frey is the first Blue Jay running back to record a 1,000-yard season in more than 35 years. The senior's final season ended with 1,012 rushing yards.

"Being a great running back takes way more than just talent," Frey said. "It's about constant work. You have to train your body and mind to handle everything the position demands. There's also the mental side: pushing through pain, staying disciplined and always chasing improvement. I think the running back position is the one of the most if not the most physical position there is on a field."

Frey began "playing" football at age 3.

"For as long as I can remember, it's always been a part of my life," Frey said of football. "My grandpa played it, my dad and uncle, and then my brother before me.

"My first memory I have from playing football is every summer when I was younger, me and my brother would just sit and play catch with a football for hours," he said. "We never really got tired of it and I am extremely grateful because those times showed me the in and outs of the game."

As he grew, Frey began to develop into a force on the gridiron.

"I've got this picture of him when he was in fifth grade hitting a wobble dummy," JHS head football coach Bill Nelson said in an interview following Frey's 1,000-yard performance. "It is total unleashed ferocity. Every time I look at Liam, I see that kid."

Frey has been on Nelson's roster since his sophomore season.

"I got my first varsity playing time during the first quarter of the 2023 season during our playoff game against (Grand Forks) Red River," Frey said. "It was an unforgettable game for me."

Since getting his first start, Frey has spent countless hours in the weight room and on the field working toward success.

"What the people around me do year in, year out made me want to push myself to become better every day," Frey said.

Getting better hasn't always meant winning football games.

"The season made me a better person because it gave me challenges and adversity to overcome," Frey said. "I didn't want my senior season to be a cakewalk."

This fall, Frey and company went 1-8 overall.

"My goal for this season was to win a state championship," Frey said. "Everyone dreams of it. Having your final season end how ours did is not easy on a person … but that's life, we have to move on.

"I've liked playing football in Jamestown because it runs in my family," he said. "Everyone before me played for the high school and to get that same feeling of playing in front of your home crowd with people you know and love every Friday is an unforgettable experience."

Getting 1,000 yards in a season seemed to be the cherry on top for Frey.

"I actually didn't know how close I was (to 1,000 yards) until Coach (Shawn) Jenner told me about it," Frey said. "I thought I needed maybe 200 to 300 yards, but I didn't realize it until a couple days before the game."

Frey needed 137 yards heading into his final game. The senior walked away with 149 yards.

"I give my success to Coach Nelson and my teammates," Frey said. "With how much Coach does for the team all year, I wouldn't be in any position to do that if I hadn't spent four-plus years with him.

"The classes before me always made me want more from myself," he said. "I learned many things from the people before me and being able to play with my class for four years took me places I never thought it would take me. Every one of them are my brothers, and I give those people all the success because I wouldn't be anywhere without them."

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