Portage running back Daequon Fields couldn’t stop smiling.
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound junior was a backup on offense last season, when the Indians didn’t win a game. Fields knows that won’t happen again after what he and his teammates did Friday.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for this since the beginning of last year. We’ve been working our butts off.”
Fields rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries as Portage downed Morton 41-17 in their season opener.
“Everybody was blocking, doing what they were supposed to do,” he said. “They were being leaders, so I just followed behind and did what I do. I read the hole, hit the hole and score.”
Fields, who got some time at defensive end last season, seized his opportunity against the Governors.
“Our O-line really stepped up, and we had a big running back behind them,” Portage junior quarterback Kodie Young said. “He did great. He just runs hard and doesn’t care. He wants a touchdown.”
Portage coach Roy Richards agreed that Fields made a difference.
“Daequon Fields is a man,” Richards said. “Once you’re wearing people down, it’s tough to tackle him. DQ was our only super athlete we have who does not play on the defense. It was his turn.
“It was a team effort. The O-line did a great job. But it’s a lot of fun to watch those kids be happy.”
Portage’s lack of a win in Richards’ debut season weighed on him. He coached at Morton from 1999 to 2014, winning four straight sectional titles and a regional. The Governors topped Portage 32-23 last season.
“This has been eating on us, on me especially,” Richards said. “We just said, ‘We’re not going to get better players. We just have to get tougher, get more physical.’ That was our mantra. After halftime, we just took over the physicality part.
“We felt like we were more physical. We worked really hard. Nothing against them, but this was about us and trying to increase our physicality. You’re not going to beat a team with all of those athletes if you’re not the more physical team. At the end of the day, the more physical team was going to win.”
Senior wide receiver Walter Mabon III scored the game’s first TD on a 21-yard pass from Young. Junior cornerback Ogbonna Williamson Jr. had a TD on an 82-yard kickoff return.
“All the guys had energy,” Young said. “Right after last season ended, we hit it because we never wanted to have that feeling again of going 0-10. We knew we were coming into this season to shock everybody, and we were ready to win.”
Senior wide receiver Lebron Hill accounted for both of Morton’s touchdowns. The Purdue recruit had four catches for 85 yards. But Portage, which double-teamed Hill throughout the game, largely limited him. His second TD, a 44-yarder, came in the waning minutes with the outcome already decided.
“Everybody was for the team,” Fields said. “We were together. We didn’t take any plays off.”
