Running Backs Roaring Through the First Four Weeks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four weeks into the 2025 season, several running backs are plowing through and around defenses among the best in the state of Iowa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1360044"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d4548016a14"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tearing it up on the ground in Class A, [player_tooltip player_id='1360044' first='Hunter' last='Curley'] has taken 62 carries for 681 yards (11 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns through our weeks this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Opposing defenses just flat-out <em>cannot </em>arm-tackle Curley. One of the hardest runners in Class A, Curley isn't afraid to stiff-arm defenses to death. A running back who loves contact and will fight through tackles like its his job, Curley also possesses a lateral quickness where he can put his foot in the ground and bounce to the outside of the defense for a long score. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1242828"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d4548016abc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Another Class A monster on the ground, [player_tooltip player_id='1242828' first='Jaxon' last='Gordon'] of Riverside is the only running back in the class to have run the ball more than 100 times -- and he's taken 126 carries at this point in the year. He's the carries leader in all classes, and second in all classes in rushing yards with 1,009, trailing only 8-Man quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id='1197463' first='Nolan' last='Kriegel'] (1,073 yards). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gordon is a "see hole, hit hole" running back, whose mission is to get the yardage in front of him as fast as possible. With knees driving as a one-track speed tail back, Gordon is the bell-cow back that knows what he needs to do for the Riverside offense to be successful -- run the ball, run hard and make it to the next play. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["401669"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d4548016b52"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='401669' first='Daniel' last='Larmie'] is leading the Ankeny offense on the ground, taking the bulk of the offensive load with 121 carries -- the only tail back in all of Class 5A with more than 86 carries this season. He's also 159 yards ahead of the next-closest rusher in total yards this season, with 737 on the ground. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Gordon, though the big runs may not be there to hike up his yards per carry, Larmie is the cornerstone with which the Hawks offensive scheme is built off of. He may not have the other-worldly total numbers that the rest of the group have to this point in the season, but he's one of the more important tail backs for his team in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1621106"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d4548016be8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The long 8-Man player on this list, [player_tooltip player_id='1621106' first='Nathan' last='Moon'] of Clarksville has rushed for 15 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, the top mark for a running back in all classes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As a ball-carrier, Moon seemingly bounces off tacklers like it's nothing, keeping his legs chugging along for big carries when his team needs them. That, and when he takes a carry up the middle, he finds some way to break through all the chaos in the trenches and emerge on the other side for a big gain or a score. On 62 carries so far this season, he's rushed for 777 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["401673"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68d4548016c7f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leading the state in yards per carry at 12.9 per touch, [player_tooltip player_id='401673' first='Javaris' last='Morgan'] couldn't be left off the list with that type of production. The Ankeny Centennial offense doesn't rely on his production as heavily as some of the other backs on this list, but when Morgan gets his name called, he makes the most of it. On 40 carries, Morgan has taken the ball for 517 yards and ten touchdowns, scoring on a ridiculous 25% of the carries he's taken so far this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan is a natural with the ball in his hands, showing patience to let his line create a hole for him, vision to know where to attack opposing defenses, lateral quickness to shake defenders out of their boots and breakaway speed to make them pay for missing tackles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->