This Kentucky Football Record will NEVER be Broken

Of all the numbers in the Kentucky football record book, I’m confident there is one record that will stand the test of time.

In 2018 Benny Snell and Josh Allen defied the odds by snapping decades-long records held by Sonny Collins and Oliver Barnett, respectively. Wan’Dale Robinson‘s single-season receiving record chase seemed improbable with four games to go, but impeccable performances down the stretch rewrote the record book. One Snell record will surely stand for a while. He had 48 career rushing touchdowns, 22 more than the two rushers in second place. Still, a talented running back could crack that over a four-year career.

The most spectacularly absurd record in Kentucky football history was set during a 2-win 2004 season, Rich Brooks’ second in Lexington. Throughout that unsuccessful campaign, a two-sport star shined on special teams. Bowling Green’s Lonell Dewalt blocked seven kicks in only 11 games.

In one year Dewalt blocked as many kicks as Matt Roark did in a four-year period. The true freshman blocked two kicks in one game, denying Tennessee twice in a gut-wrenching season-ending one-score loss.

Dewalt was built to block kicks. A 6-foot-6 all-state athlete from Warren Central, he initially planned to play both basketball and football at the University of Kentucky. One dunk at Rupp Arena during the Sweet 16 is the stuff of legends.

Dewalt’s career got off to a promising start. In addition to the seven blocked kicks, he caught 11 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, he didn’t break any records in the classroom. After one season academic issues forced him to enroll at junior college, then he failed to get enough credits to return to Kentucky.

Even though he was only a Kentucky football player for one season, Lonnell Dewalt did the unthinkable by blocking seven kicks in only 11 games, creating a record that will never be broken.