Washington sophomore Ryan Reighard (No. 1) fakes the hand off to senior Jack Giardino and takes off during the Demons’ first round playoff game versus the Solon Spartans. Photo by Susan Harshman/Washington Demon Football.
Several athletes in the KCII-listening area reached the 1,000 yard rushing mark in the 2015 football season. Six athletes from our coverage area found their way into the 1,000-yard rushing club this fall, five collected over 1,300 yards on the ground.
Sigourney-Keota senior running back Peyton Crawford accrued the most rushing yards from the area. Crawford ran for a career-high 1,747 yards and 25 touchdowns. He nearly averaged 175 rushing yards per game this fall. Crawford was honored as KCII’s Hedge Above Lawncare Athlete of the Week on September 21. He rushed for 357 yards and six touchdowns in a 52-35 victory over the Pella Christian Eagles in week four.
Washington sophomore quarterback Ryan Reighard finished second among the area athletes in rushing yards with 1,511, scoring 25 touchdowns this fall. He rushed for a career-high 231 yards and three touchdowns in Washington’s 28-14 week five triumph over the Solon Spartans. Solon ended Washington’s season in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs, 17-14 in overtime. Reighard is the fourth Demon in the last three seasons to rush for at least 1,000 yards in the season.
Lone Tree senior Jared Hudson ended his high school football career with a season-best 1,483 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns. Hudson received KCII’s Hedge Above Lawncare Athlete of the Week honor on October 21. He rushed for 160 yards and five touchdowns in Lone Tree’s 33-23 victory over Danville.
Columbus’s Mauricio Ramirez completed his high school football career with his best single season rushing performance. He ran for 1,435 yards and 16 touchdowns during the fall. It was Ramirez’s third straight 1,000 yard rushing season and he now holds the school career rushing record with 4,160 yards. Ramirez was honored with KCII’s Hedge Above Lawncare Athlete of the Week on September 2. He amassed 328 yards of total offense, 261 yards of it coming on the ground, scoring four touchdowns in Columbus’s 43-38 victory over the WACO Warriors in week 1.
WACO senior Bryce Achen concluded his athletic career on the gridiron with a career-best rushing season. He ran for 1,396 yards and 19 touchdowns during the year. He helped the Warriors to a two-win improvement this fall.
Finally, Iowa Mennonite School junior Drake Brezina needed a postseason game in order to finish the season in the 1,000 yard rushing club. Brezina, who missed part of the season due to injury, ended the year leading the Clear Creek-Amana Clippers with 1,010 yards rushing.
Winfield-Mount Union senior Darren Hunter and Mid-Prairie senior Rickey Vargas each fell fewer than 100 yards short of 1,000 for the season. Hunter was six yards away from the milestone mark, scoring 16 touchdowns. He missed W-MU’s second round playoff game against the Lynnville-Sully Hawks due to injury. The Wolves lost the second round showdown, 29-28, on a game-winning field goal with under 13 seconds remaining.
Vargas collected 911 yards rushing to lead the Golden Hawks this season, running in 11 touchdowns. Mid-Prairie saw their season come to an end on Monday, falling 42-0 to the No. 1 Albia Blue Demons in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs.