Manatee High alum Kelvin McKnight lights up Week 2 of college football

As Manatee County prepared for Hurricane Irma last week, a former Hurricanes football player was carving up West Alabama’s defense.

Kelvin McKnight, a Manatee High alumnus and Samford junior wide receiver, produced a scorching performance in college football’s second week.

He caught 13 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in Samford’s 49-41 victory. One of those touchdowns landed McKnight on the ESPN “SportsCenter” Top 10 plays list.

The play saw McKnight channel his inner-Peter Warrick, the former Southeast High and Florida State star playmaker, with some sublime stop-and-go shiftiness en route to the end zone.

McKnight’s performance wasn’t the only one to highlight in this week’s Hometown Heroes.

Here’s a look at some others:

Brian Poole: The Southeast High alum tallied seven tackles and a sack in the Atlanta Falcons’ 23-17 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Austin Reiter: After suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his NFL debut last September, the Lakewood Ranch High alumnus made his return official during Week 1 of this NFL season. Reiter, a center, played for the Cleveland Browns in a 21-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Brodrick Yancy: A redshirt junior wide receiver at Temple, the former Manatee High standout has four catches for 44 yards and a touchdown in two games this season.

Jake Stickler: The Manatee High alum is the starting right tackle for a Georgia Tech team that is producing 39 points per game and 372.5 rushing yards per game.

Jacob Sannon: A former Southeast High star, Sannon leads Idaho receivers with 15 catches for 151 yards in two games this season. The redshirt senior also has one touchdown reception.

Alex Salguero: The Braden River High alumnus saw his first game action for Marshall last week, playing on the offensive line. The Thundering Herd also have Manatee High alum Blake Keller starting on the defensive line and the two play Kent State, which features Manatee High alum Kavious Price, on Saturday.

Jacob Westberry: After getting put on scholarship, the Saint Stephen’s alumnus is Fresno State’s starting long snapper.

Sam Jackson: A freshman at Central Florida, the former Lakewood Ranch High offensive lineman played in the Knights’ season opener against Florida International. Last week’s game against Memphis and this week’s game against Georgia Tech were called off due to Hurricane Irma, through the game against Memphis is expected to be rescheduled.

Desmond Blue: The Southeast High alum is already filling up the stat sheet as a versatile defensive player in his senior season at Eastern New Mexico. Blue has started two games for the Greyhounds and tallied nine tackles (three for a loss) and one sack, and has broken up two passes and blocked one kick.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Manatee High alum Kelvin McKnight lights up Week 2 of college football."