The bell cow is a declining species at all levels of football, but Naperville Central’s Aiden Clark is one who remains on the ascent.
The senior running back carried a heavy load during the season opener against Hinsdale Central on Friday, and he made it look easy.
“The mentality this week was toughness,” Clark said. “We wanted to out-physical them on the offensive and defensive line, and I think we really showed that today. We ran the ball all over them.”
Clark did the bulk of the running, rushing 30 times for a career-high 252 yards and two touchdowns to lead the host Redhawks to a 24-13 victory at Memorial Stadium. His previous best was 244 yards, which came during his last appearance at Memorial Stadium in a win against Downers Grove South in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs last season.
“Coming back, I wanted to hit the ground running, like literally and figuratively,” Clark said. “I think tonight was a big steppingstone for us as a team and me as a player.”
Indeed, Clark and his teammates showed their mettle with a dominant effort on both sides of the ball despite an early hiccup.
Hinsdale Central capitalized on an interception on the opening possession at Naperville Central’s 14-yard line. Riley Contreras tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Tresslar to give the Red Devils a 6-0 lead, but the Redhawks blocked the extra point.
Clark gained 52 yards on the ensuing drive, capping it with a 2-yard scoring run. The Redhawks kept giving it to Clark, who also caught three passes for 23 yards, despite the warm, humid weather.
“Tonight, I knew I was going to get the ball a lot, but I didn’t think it was going to be quite that much,” he said. “I want the ball every play, whether that’s pass or run. I trust myself with the ball, and I think my teammates do as well. So if I’m getting the ball, then I’m going to do everything that I can.”
That comes as no surprise to Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich.
“We have some guys that work really hard, and there’s few guys that have worked as hard as Aiden,” Ulreich said. “He ran winter track, he played baseball and he didn’t miss a single morning workout.
“That is the type of kid he is. He is super competitive, he trusts his teammates, but more than anything else is in January or March at 6 a.m. on a Wednesday or a Friday, he is there every single time. He just really trusts that the work he’s put in is going to pay off.”
Clark credits his offensive line with helping him. But it can’t explain intangibles like the will he showed on his final carry Friday. He absorbed a hard hit at the 50-yard line and broke free for a 56-yard TD run to give the Redhawks a 24-6 lead with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter.
“He’s hard to bring down, he’s got killer speed and his motor is the best thing about him,” Naperville Central senior center Connor Sands said. “Every single day, he’s grinding and winning sprints.
“I’ve got so much praise for him because I love blocking for him. He makes plays, and I love chasing him after the play. It’s an awesome problem to have, right?”
Clark arguably faces his toughest task in practice.
“The funny thing is he hasn’t been able to cut it loose a ton in practice because we play a lot of good defense,” Ulreich said. “So it’s fun to see him start to cut it loose because when he gets out in the open, he’s just such an explosive runner.”
As everyone witnessed Friday.
“He just played amazing,” Naperville Central senior nose tackle Jason Figg said. “He’s one of the most fun players I get to watch. He makes so many explosive plays.”
Figg is one of the defenders who have been tackling Clark in practice.
“It’s not always easy,” Figg said. “When we have a great O-line blocking for him, it makes things hard, but that just gets me that much better.”
Clark is determined to keep getting better.
“I hate being off the field,” he said. “I do it for my school, the legacy here. My dad played here, and my mom went to high school here, and there’s a lot of great players that came before me. So every time I run the ball or go in the weight room, I’m doing it for them and the people around me.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
