Gridiron: Kelly’s Reece Eftink among the best and still getting better

Senior running back Reece Eftink has been a workhorse back for the Kelly Hawks in the past two years.

He carried the ball 170 times last year for 1,340 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading the Hawks to a 5-5 record. He earned all-conference, all-district, all-region, and all-state honors.

“I’m just hoping to keep it up for a third year, just trying to do what I did the past two years,” Eftink said. “There’s always room to improve. You can always improve your footwork and technique and everything.”

Eftink said the majority of his improvement came from the weight room. Like many football programs, the weight room has a table that charts the top physical achievements of players past and present.

“I choose the rack closest to that,” Eftink said. “Every day before my lift, I look at that. I know I need to be up there. I want to be up there. It just pushes me every day to do better, be around that weight.”

Eftink said he is within five pounds of earning a place on the wall in every lift category, which motivates him to this day.

“Still chasing through my senior year,” Eftink said.

Eftink was twice named a finalist for Offensive Player of the Year in the Se-moball Awards. He saw Tray’von Thomas of Hayti win in 2022, and Jamarion Smith of Portageville take home the award this year. Eftink enters the new season driven to return to the award show in 2024 and finally step on the stage as POY.

“Going both times and seeing somebody else win,” Eftink said, “and I’m pretty sure we played against them both the past two years. That just makes me want to do better, and maybe I’m the next one up there.”

The Hawks finished last season 5-5 after two straight winning seasons. Eftink, considered one of the team leaders, said his team has the right mindset to bounce back this season.

“I say our attitude and effort is a lot better than last year,” Eftink said. “We were kind of sluggish and going through the motions but this year during the off-season, we’re putting it into gear and really getting after that work during practice.”

Among Kelly’s five losses last year, the two that stung the most to the Hawks were against local powerhouses Porta-geville and Scott City, both resulting in 42-0 bruisings.

Eftink plans to avenge those defeats. “I’m looking forward to Scott City and Portageville, honestly,” Eftink said.