Trib HSSN May Madness: Tyler Boyd, Clairton vs. Justin King, Gateway

By: Don Rebel
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday and running through 9 a.m. Thursday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first-round matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Thursday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys. Round 1, Day 4:

Tyler Boyd vs. Justin King is a small school vs. big school matchup of two great athletes whose dominance on the scholastic gridiron allowed them to achieve success on the college level and eventually in the pros.

Tyler Boyd — Clairton Class of 2013

(Football, basketball, baseball)

• 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review football player of the year

• 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star team

• Despite seeing time as a wide receiver and quarterback in his four years at Clairton, Boyd finished as a running back and was fifth on the all-time WPIAL rushing list with 5,755 yards, including a gaudy 11.9 yards per carry and 2,567 yards his senior year

• Broke the WPIAL record with 117 career touchdowns

• After losing his very first varsity game at Clairton, Boyd and his teammates won the next 63 games over his four years in black and orange while claiming four straight WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships

• Played in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and the 2013 Big 33 all-star football games. Boyd was MVP of the Big 33 after accounting for five touchdowns on two scoring receptions, a touchdown run, a TD pass and a 91-yard kickoff return for a score

• Was an all-section basketball player his senior year as he helped the Bears reach the WPIAL championship game

• Came out for the Clairton baseball team his senior year and was the starting shortstop

• Boyd played wide receiver at Pitt and currently is a wide out in the NFL for Cincinnati

Justin King — Gateway Class of 2005

(Football, track and field)

• 2004 Gatorade Pennsylvania football player of the year and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 all-star selection

• King rushed for 4,519 career yards, which at the time put him third in Class AAAA (highest classification) history

• Scored 59 career touchdowns as a wide receiver and running back for the Gators

• In his senior year, King rushed for 1,900 yards and scored 33 touchdowns in leading Gateway to the WPIAL championship game for the first time in nearly 20 years

• On defense, where he was ranked as one of the top cornerbacks in the nation, King had 25 solo tackles and one interception his senior year

• As a sophomore in 2003, King set the school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.3 seconds

• He was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2018

• King played college football as a cornerback at Penn State before playing in the NFL for St. Louis, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh

Tyler Boyd – @boutdat_23
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Justin King – @theking1

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) May 6, 2020

Tags: Clairton, Gateway