CJ Selby has proven throughout his career to be the star of the show when it comes to Jim Thorpe’s vaunted rushing attack, and it seems he has saved his most critically-acclaimed performances for his final act.

The senior looks primed and focused to put up big rushing numbers yet again this season for the Olympians, which he certainly accomplished on Friday night against rival Panther Valley.

Selby stuffed the staff sheet against the Panthers, rushing for 173 yards on just nine carries, helping the Olympians (3-0) to a 67-0 victory. Selby, who also returns punts for Thorpe, made his presence felt on special teams as well, returning a punt 35 yards for a touchdown. Selby’s performance was more than enough to earn him the Times News Player of the Week honors.

Selby showed flashes early on in his career of his combined power and speed, rushing for 905 yards and 11 touchdowns between his freshman and sophomore seasons in a backup role for the Olympians. Selby learned a lot about the game in his underclassmen years, which has helped him develop the running style he now plays with today.

“A big thing from early on to now was getting faster; that’s always a big part of varsity football is that you have to come back each year faster,” said Selby. “Other than that, I think just having the mentality of wanting to be hit and absorb the contact and keep moving has always helped me. I like to dish out some hits when I’m running the football, which sometimes makes a defender hesitant to take you on if they know you’re going to run hard and hit.”

Jim Thorpe head coach Mark Rosenberger agrees with Selby, but also points out that Selby has improved his game in every facet, and that he also has one of the most important attributes that any football player must have to be successful.

“First and foremost, I think CJ really loves the game, he has a real passion for the sport, and that has motivated him to improve year-in and year-out,” said Rosenberger. “What I like most about him is he has a bit of an old-school mentality when it comes to running the football. He plays a hard-nosed style with power and strength, and mixes that in with some nice speed as well. I think he’s improved his vision steadily every year; he’s really made himself into a complete running back.”

Improve is exactly what Selby has done over his four-year career for the Olympians. In his freshman season, he saw limited reps, but still rushed for 206 yards and a score. It was in his sophomore campaign where Selby started to show his stuff, rushing for 699 yards and 10 scores, serving as the thunder to former Times News Running Back of the Year Justin St. Hill’s (JT’s third all-time leading rusher) lighting.

And last season, Selby cemented himself as one of the top running backs in the Times News area, rushing for 1,310 yards and 16 touchdowns. Add in his 491 yards in three games this season, and that brings the hard-charging running back’s total to 2,706 career rushing yards - just 696 yards shy of the Jim Thorpe all-time rushing record currently held by former Times News Football Player of the Year Jason Figura (2004-05, 3,402 career rushing yards).

However, Selby’s most impressive rushing statistic almost certainly goes overlooked - an 8.2 yards per carry career average with just over 325 carries.

“I was really excited to get my chance last season to be our starting running back, and I’ve worked hard to make the most of it,” said Selby. “I have to give a ton of credit to my linemen for the job they do. They make my job really easy sometimes, and they all work hard year round in the weight room to be one of the strongest units out there.

“This whole team works hard all year. Coach Rosenberger has set a standard, and I’m just excited to see what we can do the rest of the season.”