Deacon King Deacon King 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB/RB Westfield | 2026 State IN , a two-way starter on offense (running back) and defense (safety), caps off a great high school career with two touchdowns that kept Westfield close. King is a very good athlete; the Northern Illinois commit knows how to score and makes a high impact on both sides of the ball. A tough runner who finishes forward on contact, King displays great quickness, vision and burst. Northern Illinois will get a keeper in the 6-foot-1, 197-pound three-star recruit.

King and the running game were needed on Friday as Carroll had the passing game on lock. King can run between the tackles and churn out the hard yardage. He’s got powerful legs and can drive through contact. He carried the ball 25 times for 136 yards and scored 4 TDs on the night. The game was tight through 3 quarters, and Carroll had the lead through half the game. It was the second half where King caught fire and scored 3 TDs and helped pull away from the Chargers.

The Westfield running back shined against the Royals, finishing forward for extra yards and scoring a touchdown in the second half and showing great mental toughness after fumbling on the previous possession. King is a physically strong running back who can take over games, finish forward on contact and maintain balance in space. He wore down the Royals late in the game, and he is a player any team who wants to beat Westfield must account for.

Coellner will have his hands full chasing Deacon King Deacon King 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB/RB Westfield | 2026 State IN , who rushed for 160 yards and two total touchdowns in Week One.  We mentioned King as an electrifying playmaker with the ball in his hands, and Homestead learned that lesson the hard way.  King is committed to Northern Illinois.  Key to paving the way for him up-front is Kansas commit Malachi Mills Malachi Mills 6'6" | 270 lbs | OL Westfield | 2026 State IN and Ohio Bobcat commit Job Maverick.

Deacon is just an outstanding, high-impact prospect that he can’t be ruled out. Forget his recruitment (Northern Illinois got a steal): he can straight-up take over games. On defense he is an outstanding tackler and hard hitter. Yet for as good as he is on defense, he is a constant threat on offense: he rushed for 1,440 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.

Westfield jumped out to a 10-0 lead and had control of the game early on due to the raw ability from King to move the chains. He’s a hard runner to bring down, has good speed, and will throw a stiff-arm as the defenders fall right off of him. He broke the scoring open with a 6-yard TD in the 1st and later scored a 9-yard TD in the 4th, but it wasn’t quite enough to get them over the top.

While we just covered King on a piece this week highlighting his performance in Regionals, he’s going to need to duplicate to help the Shamrocks on Friday. He’s become such a reliable 2-way player for them but as of lately has just dominated in the running game. In the first 6 games of the year, he only averaged 70 yards per game and averaged 5.4 YPC during that span. Over the last 6 games, he’s averaged 131 yards per game and averaged 7.6 YPC. The flip has switched for King as a back and he continues to get better as he plays and gets more reps.

Westfield turned to King in the backfield on Friday and he came through in a big way. Not only did they use him as a workhorse back, but he did carried the ball 33 times and rushed for over 200 yards. He’s a violent runner who can and will run through a defender. He’s got the speed to break big runs and it seems to catch defenses off guard. He broke a long of 50-yards in the game and scored once as he helped Westfield beat Fishers.

King is an excellent player for the Shamrocks and will undoubtedly receive college attention for his efforts. He recorded 1,000 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, and especially dominated the Avon matchup where he just took over. A two-way player, he racked up an additional 25 tackles, one interception, two pass breakups and one forced fumble from his perch at safety. He holds several MAC offers, but Power 4 teams are sure to come.

King is a dynamite playmaker who took center stage in last week’s big win. He had three first-half touchdowns, and he’s a dominant player teams must account for. King is a strong runner who runs through contact and is good both inside and outside the tackles, displays soft hands when catching out off the backfield, and has great balance in space and can make first defenders miss.