According to the World Travel guide, food Ohio is famous for includes: Buckeyes – peanut butter formed to look like the nut of a Buckeye tree and then dipped in chocolate (yes, it does sound suspiciously like another candy product); Goetta – oats and ground pork cooked on a griddle until crispy; Pierogi – dumplings stuffed with potato, sauerkraut, ground meat or cheese filling and traditionally fried in butter with onions; and others.
Note the absence of fried chicken, but that may be about to change. Especially with Kor’Darius Melton soon to be on the way. The Houston County High School senior signed a scholarship with Ohio Wesleyan University Thursday.
“It’s a great school and a great program for me,” he said. The school itself – a liberal arts college – is located in Delaware, which is about 50 miles north of Columbus. He made an official visit there back in January. “And it means a great future for me.”
That future includes football – the heart of the scholarship – but it also includes cooking. Off the field, he hopes to major in business and management, one day be a chef and own his own restaurants. And yes, fried chicken is one of his specialties, as is shrimp pasta, etc. He also loves to grill, bake … well, just cook in particular. “I learned from my mom and my grandmother,” he said, adding he “does” watch the cooking competition shows on TV. “Once I got in the kitchen, I never left.”
He said the same thing about football, in particular the first time about 12 years ago when his father placed a football in his hand.
“He really didn’t know what position he was as far as a young ninth grader,” Head Coach Ryan Crawford said of when Melton first entered the program following his move up from Feagin Mill Middle School. “But I knew from the moment I saw him. He’s a very hard-working guy. He’s done everything we’ve asked since he came through the door at Houston County. He is the epitome of a program player.”
He added of his two-year starter: “We moved him around. End (defensive end is his favorite, Melton said), inside as a junior. Him being a ‘nose’ man, he had to come all the way across the field a lot of times. And he’s always been up to the task.”
To the tune of 45 tackles his junior-senior year – more than 100 tackles all told, Crawford said – 48 assists, six sacks and 10 tackles for loss his senior year.
“I’m really excited for him,” Crawford continued. “I could assure you on Friday night, I look into his eyes, and as a defensive coach coaching him, and he’s passionate about playing the game and passionate about Houston County and giving everything for us.”
That passion will now be diverted toward helping the Battling Bishops improve on a 6-4 record from this past year. And of course introducing the state to a little “home cooking” – both figuratively (on the field) and literally (in the kitchen).
