Running into the limelight
Published 11:46 am Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A year ago, Austin Denton was far removed from the glory of playing varsity football on Friday nights.
Denton was a member of the Marysville-Pilchuck High School sophomore team. No big crowds. No elaborate halftime shows. No post-game interviews.
Coming into this fall — Denton’s junior season — Marysville-Pilchuck coaches knew Denton had talent. They expected him to be a varsity contributor, a solid reserve running back. But two days before the Tomahawks’ season opener, a door opened and Denton was forced into the spotlight.
The projected starting fullback, senior Colton Smith, sprained his knee at practice. Suddenly Denton, who had never played a down of football above the sophomore level, was The Man in an offense that regards the fullback position as “the foundation of what we do,” as M-P head coach Brandon Carson puts it.
Fast forward to this past Friday. Wearing what looked like a permanent grin, Denton beamed about his team’s just-completed 28-0 win over Lake Stevens. He played a huge role, rushing for 176 yards and a touchdown. Through six weeks of the season he has run for at least 110 yards in every game and eclipsed 200 yards three times.
Not bad for a young man who was slated to be a backup.
Denton said he has far surpassed what he expected to achieve this season for M-P, which is 6-0 and in first place in the Western Conference North Division. It’s the first 6-0 start for the Tomahawks since 1975.
“I guess I stepped up to the occasion,” said Denton, a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder.
Denton averages 8.1 yards per carry and has 12 rushing TDs. This week he and the Tomahawks play a non-division contest at Kamiak (1-5).
How is Denton, who has already rushed for 1,073 yards, handling his meteoric rise? Here’s an indication: He is quick to credit his teammates. Specifically, he praised M-P’s dominant offensive line, which includes seniors Tannon Hillis, Mike Stone, Mitch Pearson, Jeff Trappe and junior Brett Parsons.
“Actually, if it wasn’t for them,” Denton said, “I wouldn’t have over 1,000 yards this season. Big thanks to them.”
After M-P soundly defeated Lake Stevens Friday, Vikings head coach Tom Tri raved about the linemen too.
“Austin Denton is a great running back,” Tri said, “but if I was (Denton) I would give much love to that offensive line because that’s the most physical offensive line we’ve seen in a long time.”
As the focal point in M-P’s T-formation running game, Denton inflicts damage on runs up the middle. Against Lake Stevens 24 of his 25 carries went for positive yards. He had just one run of more than 20 yards, but Denton has shown breakaway ability this fall with TD bursts of 49, 52 and 56 yards.
“He’s pretty powerful and he’ll bang you and bang you and bang you until he pops one or two” long runs, Carson said.
Even if Smith, who is back playing defense for M-P, had not suffered an injury Denton would have made an impact at some point this year, Carson said. But being the area’s leading rusher midway through the regular season? No one would have predicted that.
In addition to getting major help from M-P’s effective linemen, Denton plays alongside two other talented backs: seniors Caleb Posey and Ryan Sterley. They are fantastic blockers, Carson said, who often open space for Denton and confuse defenders by pretending to take handoffs from M-P quarterbacks Devin Peterson and Nick Forsythe.
Posey and Sterley have been key ball carriers as well, combining for 670 yards and five TDs.
It’s not necessarily difficult to prepare for a game against the Tomahawks, but actually stopping them has been an unenviable task. “They don’t do a whole bunch of things, but the few things they do, they do right,” Snohomish head coach Mark Perry said.
In week two M-P blasted Snohomish 34-7. Denton rushed for 218 yards, helping the Tomahawks own the ball almost all night. Snohomish didn’t run an offensive play in the third quarter.
“They’re out there grinding on your defense and they’re just beating on you,” Perry said.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/doubleteam.
