Bryan Vikings defensive coordinator Dwight Pattrick remembers the time he caught Harris Kelly quietly stuffing something in his locker.

"It's my candy, Coach," Pattrick recalled his now-starting defensive end as saying.

"OK, can you give me a deal?" Pattrick asked.

"He said, 'I'll sell you some.'"

Kelly is a businessman who doesn't mind doing the work necessary to make a buck. Economics is his favorite class.

"I like making money," Kelly said. "I sell candy. You're not really supposed to be selling candy at school."

Kelly is also an artist and has won awards in his art class.

"I like drawing people, doing portraits," Kelly said. "I like stuff like that. I do them in pencils."

The budding entrepreneur has a wide range of interests. He wasn't sure he was interested in playing defensive end, though.

"I used to play safety and corner, and when they moved me, I hadn't really played D-end," said Kelly, a senior whose first varsity experience was this year. "I didn't really care for it, but once I got on the team and learned how to play it, I like it now."

At just 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds, Kelly is asked be a run-stopping defensive end with pass-coverage responsibilities. Can he really handle that?

Yes, the Candy Man can.

He had 10 tackles in the 43-33 loss to A&M Consolidated last week, giving him 42 for the year. He also has caused two fumbles and has a sack.

"My position is a big part of the defense," Kelly said. "I like attacking the quarterback, and when I first started to do that is when I was getting a lot of tackles. But everything comes at me, so if I mess up, everything messes up. I feel like I have to be on top of everything."

There was some doubt that Kelly would be able to play at all this season. A preseason physical exam revealed a hernia he knew nothing about.

"I thought I was going to have to miss the whole season, and I was kind of sad," Kelly said. "They told me if it wasn't really bothering me that I could play. After the season, I might have to have surgery if it bothers me."

Right now, though, he's the bother, a quick defender who can outrun running backs to the sideline when necessary.

"At safety and corner, you've got to wait on it, and you can't just rush in," said Kelly, one of the smallest linemen in District 12-5A. "Whether it's coming or going, I just feel like I've got to get to the ball. I'd rather hit before I chase."

Kelly has been a surprising hit since recording nine tackles in the opening game against Cypress Falls. He also stripped a ball to force a fumble.

"You're not going to get the tackle all of the time, so you can't just be trying to be a playmaker," Kelly said. "You've got to do your job, and trying to make the tackle can mess you up sometimes. I can't get them all. You've got to let someone else get some, too."

Bryan Vikings vs. Copperas Cove Bulldawgs

7:30 p.m. Friday, Merrill Green Stadium

HARRIS KELLY UP CLOSE

* In my .mp3 player: Lil' Keke

* Favorite food: chicken and rice

* Favorite class: economics taught by Chris Biggs

* Favorite TV show: The Cosby Show